We will be even more saturated by stories about the ugly, voracious, advancing, asian carp as two big meetings are set to take place next week.
On Monday the White House will host regional leaders behind closed doors to discuss what to do about the advancing asian carp. Then on Friday there will be another meeting in Chicago with representatives from all of the involved agencies and states seeking public input.
The big question will be whether any substantive action will come from these meetings. Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox is working on discrediting the argument that the Illinois economy would be severely impacted. Cox commissioned a study to find out exactly what the economic impacts would be on the Illinois economy. The study found that the claims by Illinois legislators and the Obama Administration are grossly exaggerated. The study came on the heels of a renewed preliminary injunction that Cox filed in response to new carp DNA that was found in Lake Michigan.
The study found the following:
7 million tons of cargo would be affected. This is less than 1 percent of all freight traffic in the Chicago region and 30 percent of the total Port of Chicago traffic.
The affected barge traffic equals two loaded freight trains. This is in a region that has 500 daily freight trains.
Truck traffic would increase by less than 1/10 of a percent despite shippers' claims that the increase in truck traffic would lead to deteriorated air quality.
Cargo that was affected would still be moved by ships, they just would not be entering the locks. The cargo would have to be transported the rest of the way by trucks or trains.
Overall the costs to shippers would be increased by $70 million, not $190 million as was previously claimed by Illinois and federal officials. If anything, new cargo related jobs would be created. Any lost barge jobs would be replaced by trucking or rail jobs.
The report also found that shipping has decreased in recent years from over 7.4 million tons in 2007 to over 6.9 million tons in 2008.
The report came up with three alternatives for cargo if the locks were closed.
"Alternative A. Transload all cargo between barge and truck. All existing cargo passing through the Chicago and O’Brien locks would continue to move by barge. New transload facilities would be built downstream of the barrier. All cargo would be trucked between the transload center and existing customers."
"Alternative B. Transload but some rail. Most cargo would continue to be transferred to and from trucks at the transload facilities. However, some would shift to an all rail movement. "
"Alternative C. Transload, rail, pipeline, and use of other terminals. Half of cargo would continue to transfer to and from trucks at the transload facilities. There would be more rail. Some cargo would continue to move by barge via other routes to terminals elsewhere in the region, and some would move by pipeline."
Given that the Great Lakes sport fishery is valued at $7 billion, the Great Lakes are being held hostage by Illinois officials for the paltry sum of $70 million. There are reasonable actions that can be taken. It will be interesting to see if this study is even considered in the decision making process. By the end of next week we will see whether anything will be done or if everyone will just agree that it is a problem and keep dragging it out.
The report is toward the end of the renewed motion for preliminary injunction.
Chicago Waterway System Ecological Separation: The Logistics and Transportation Related Cost Impact of Waterway Barriers
Saturday, February 6, 2010
FOUL v2.0: the Jesus Lizard '89-'94, remastered
Sorry for the long delay folks, though I guess it's not THAT long.
As we wait for the Recycle blog to post the next installment of the Joy Division series (again, prepared by your humble blogger), I've decided to revisit a (fairly) popular previous post on this very blog.
About a year ago I presented a "best-of", or a taster package, what have you, of that very awesome Chicago band the Jesus Lizard. It was one of the more popular posts here, and suffered through a couple file deletions by the powers that be.
Since that post, the entire Jesus Lizard oeuvre - on legendary Chicago label Touch and Go, that is - has been remastered by none other than Bob Weston and Steve Albini themselves. This is fantastic because both are about as bullshit-free as it gets regarding audio engineering, and both think the modern brickwall mastering style is horseshit (see the "loudness war" links over there on the right).
So when the news came that the tJL catalog was getting the Weston treatment (essentially, all the tracks that the band recorded with Albini) by being remastered at Weston's own Chicago Mastering Service - with Albini overseeing the process, I nearly crapped my pants.
And the wait was very much well worth it.
One of the really fantastic things about this set of remasters is that it gave me the chance to reappraise the band's final Touch and Go album, 1994's Down. I had previously dismissed this record as the weakest one in the bunch - and barely gave it a fair shake. I included tracks from it in my last tJL post just to do so, not because I necessarily liked them all that much. On reappraisal, however - and the improved mastering certainly hasn't hurt - I really love this record. It's not their best record per-se, but it sounds FANTASTIC and there are some stellar songs that need to be heard.
So today I'm posting an updated and expanded version of my prior FOUL compilation - this time, with all tracks from the remastered albums, and expanded to include some of the critical-to-my-ears bonus tracks included with the reissues. Alas, this also necessitated the growth from one CD to two, but hey - who's going to complain when they have more Jesus Lizard to listen to?
So on with it!
the JESUS LIZARD
FOUL v2.0: the Jesus Lizard 89-94, compiled: the remastered editions
See the prior post for the complete illustrated discography.
01 Blockbuster (studio)
02 Chrome
03 One Evening
04 S.D.B.J.
05 My Own Urine
06 If You Had Lips
07 7 vs. 8
08 Waxeater
09 Tight 'N Shiny
10 Then Comes Dudley
11 Mouth Breather
12 Nub
13 Seasick
14 Monkey Trick
15 Lady Shoes
16 Pop Song
17 Wheelchair Epidemic
18 Dancing Naked Ladies (single version)
19 Blockbuster (live 4 Dec. 1992 9:30 Club, Washington DC)
- cd break here -
20 Boilermaker (Idful Studio Sessions demo)
21 Gladiator (Idful Studio Sessions demo)
22 Boilermaker
23 Gladiator
24 Puss
25 Whirl
26 Rope
27 Zachariah
28 Dancing Naked Ladies
29 Glamorous
30 Fly On The Wall
31 Countless Backs Of Sad Losers
32 The Associate
33 Destroy Before Reading
34 Low Rider
35 The Best Parts
36 Panic In Cicero
sources:
1-9 Head/Pure 2009 remastered reissue
10-16 Goat 2009 remastered reissue
19 bootleg soundboard recording
17-18, 20-28 Liar 2009 remastered reissue
29-36 Down 2009 remastered reissue
All tracks originally issued on Touch and Go Records except where noted
1 originally from the EP Pure (1989)
2 originally from 7" single (1990)
3-9 originally from the LP Head (1990)
10-15 originally from the LP Goat (1991)
16 originally from the Dope, Guns and Fucking #7 7" on Amphetamine Reptile (1991)
17-18 originally from 7" single (1992)
20-21 originally from Australian 7" on Insipid (1992)
22-28 originally from the LP Liar (1992)
29 originally from the EP Lash (1993)
30-35 originally from the LP Down (1994)
36 originally from the Clerks soundtrack LP on Sony (1994)
3 RAR files, 320kbps MP3, here!
enjoy!
As we wait for the Recycle blog to post the next installment of the Joy Division series (again, prepared by your humble blogger), I've decided to revisit a (fairly) popular previous post on this very blog.
About a year ago I presented a "best-of", or a taster package, what have you, of that very awesome Chicago band the Jesus Lizard. It was one of the more popular posts here, and suffered through a couple file deletions by the powers that be.
Since that post, the entire Jesus Lizard oeuvre - on legendary Chicago label Touch and Go, that is - has been remastered by none other than Bob Weston and Steve Albini themselves. This is fantastic because both are about as bullshit-free as it gets regarding audio engineering, and both think the modern brickwall mastering style is horseshit (see the "loudness war" links over there on the right).
So when the news came that the tJL catalog was getting the Weston treatment (essentially, all the tracks that the band recorded with Albini) by being remastered at Weston's own Chicago Mastering Service - with Albini overseeing the process, I nearly crapped my pants.
And the wait was very much well worth it.
One of the really fantastic things about this set of remasters is that it gave me the chance to reappraise the band's final Touch and Go album, 1994's Down. I had previously dismissed this record as the weakest one in the bunch - and barely gave it a fair shake. I included tracks from it in my last tJL post just to do so, not because I necessarily liked them all that much. On reappraisal, however - and the improved mastering certainly hasn't hurt - I really love this record. It's not their best record per-se, but it sounds FANTASTIC and there are some stellar songs that need to be heard.
So today I'm posting an updated and expanded version of my prior FOUL compilation - this time, with all tracks from the remastered albums, and expanded to include some of the critical-to-my-ears bonus tracks included with the reissues. Alas, this also necessitated the growth from one CD to two, but hey - who's going to complain when they have more Jesus Lizard to listen to?
So on with it!
the JESUS LIZARD
FOUL v2.0: the Jesus Lizard 89-94, compiled: the remastered editions
See the prior post for the complete illustrated discography.
01 Blockbuster (studio)
02 Chrome
03 One Evening
04 S.D.B.J.
05 My Own Urine
06 If You Had Lips
07 7 vs. 8
08 Waxeater
09 Tight 'N Shiny
10 Then Comes Dudley
11 Mouth Breather
12 Nub
13 Seasick
14 Monkey Trick
15 Lady Shoes
16 Pop Song
17 Wheelchair Epidemic
18 Dancing Naked Ladies (single version)
19 Blockbuster (live 4 Dec. 1992 9:30 Club, Washington DC)
- cd break here -
20 Boilermaker (Idful Studio Sessions demo)
21 Gladiator (Idful Studio Sessions demo)
22 Boilermaker
23 Gladiator
24 Puss
25 Whirl
26 Rope
27 Zachariah
28 Dancing Naked Ladies
29 Glamorous
30 Fly On The Wall
31 Countless Backs Of Sad Losers
32 The Associate
33 Destroy Before Reading
34 Low Rider
35 The Best Parts
36 Panic In Cicero
sources:
1-9 Head/Pure 2009 remastered reissue
10-16 Goat 2009 remastered reissue
19 bootleg soundboard recording
17-18, 20-28 Liar 2009 remastered reissue
29-36 Down 2009 remastered reissue
All tracks originally issued on Touch and Go Records except where noted
1 originally from the EP Pure (1989)
2 originally from 7" single (1990)
3-9 originally from the LP Head (1990)
10-15 originally from the LP Goat (1991)
16 originally from the Dope, Guns and Fucking #7 7" on Amphetamine Reptile (1991)
17-18 originally from 7" single (1992)
20-21 originally from Australian 7" on Insipid (1992)
22-28 originally from the LP Liar (1992)
29 originally from the EP Lash (1993)
30-35 originally from the LP Down (1994)
36 originally from the Clerks soundtrack LP on Sony (1994)
3 RAR files, 320kbps MP3, here!
enjoy!
Drill Baby Drill?
My bf and I were trying to find info on how many new wells will be drilled in Alberta this year, but the numbers are hard to pinpoint. We've seen newsreports and others sites suggesting anywhere from 4000 to 6000ish. At any rate, it's a shock compared to what was being done even 2 years ago.
This article via the Calgary Herald, dated May 2009, listed that over 11,000 new wells were dug in 2008, compared with a forecast of only 6600 for 2009. The article cites a few reasons such as increased US production, but makes a short reference to the increased royalties way at the bottom.
Whatever the reasons, drilling new wells has dropped by nearly half across Canada, but it's like Alberta's lifeblood and it concerns me. I see changes in a lot of industries around here. In my city, I swear many stores have had the same big sales going on since before Christmas. You know, when you see a sign in a clothing store that says '70% off! 2 Days Only!' but you see the sign up for 1.5 months so far? One place in particular I shop at often and know that they do not have sales up that long, and haven't since they opened up here several years ago. See, I only used to shop there if there was a major sale going on so I would keep my eye out for the big red Specials signs. Well, they have been up EVERY DAY since before Christmas. I would say since the Fall, end of season clearout sale just kept going. And it's been like that in many stores around here.
My job almost never has empty spaces, there is usually such a high demand for daycare, you have huge waiting lists. Just two years ago I remember telling people who called that we had over 25 kids on the waiting list, but only have 21 spaces to begin with. It was a regular thing to hear people expressing concern and disappointment at not being able to find a center, but not wanting to put their child in with a private sitter/dayhome (wanting security in numbers of adults). I listened to stories like that almost every day in the summer, several times a day. Now it's completely turned the other way. Our phone rings maybe once a MONTH with someone looking for a space. And then that person finds spaces at several other centers too (again, almost unheard of around here normally) so they get to go daycare shopping and pick which one they like the best. That is SO out of touch with how things usually are. And we even had 3 centers close down in the last few years - so you'd think the remaining ones would be even more full. But nope. We all have spaces and the most cited reason is that parents are not working as much, or some have lost their jobs completely, and they cannot put their kids into centers. I notice a heavy hit to the economy every day. Some of the kids we have left are missing their dads cos they ended up going to Mexico to work on the oil rigs. The rest are mostly single parent families who are still working in just above minimum wage jobs and get daycare subsidy anyway so they don't worry about the cost. It seems to be that a dark cloud is still over this province and I don't think many realize how bad it actually is. One center in particular here went through a huge renovation maybe 5-6 years ago, increasing their spaces from99 to 170 because of the high demand for care. But now they are struggling badly financially, cutting staff wages back, firing long term staff, and the extra spaces they built for are sitting there empty. It signals something is wrong. Dayhome companies here are down carers as well so it's not just that people are choosing different care.
Another thing that interests me is how they come up with the employment numbers. I have heard that as many as 80,000 have taken a hard hit to their wages, 15 to 25000 lost their jobs last year, or I've heard more or I've heard less. It's confusing to try to find out what is REALLY going on. Someone from a more populated area might read this and think 25,000 isn't 'too bad' but the entire province has a smaller population than the Toronto area, so 25 thousand is quite a big chunk. 80,000 is huge for us. But I wonder how they count those who have less hours. My bf is still considered full time, still goes to work almost every day, but we are on LESS THAN HALF what he has been for the past 5 years. Why? Because there are different levels of pay for Truck Time and Shop Time. He spends most days in the shop, which is a killer for our bank account, not to mention for his bosses who have to pay him even though they are barely doing anything these days. So if someone were to look at his weekly HOURS for tallying job losses in Alberta, they would see him almost at full time and occasionally getting overtime. They might pass him and his coworkers by as being 'gainfully employed' still but they are all struggling greatly. If you make $24/hr on the road trucking, but $14/hr in the shop and suddenly you are doing FAR more shop time than trucking - you do the math. That's a great cut to their usual wages. Not taking EI, not totally skint, but really struggling to keep up after a full year of this. He used to leave at 4am and get home at 8pm six or seven days a week. Now he leaves at 6 and gets home by 3pm. He has only had one overtime day in the past 3 months, which is WAY WAY WAY off the norm. I've been tallying up our grocery bill while I shop for the first time since I was a single mom making $10/hr. It's surreal.
My father in law and brother in law are working a lot more again, but they have some huge holes to fill from 9 months of not working last year. And they don't know yet if their rigs will have a Spring shutdown so they are working their butts off to try to save up some emergency cash. All their savings were used up last year. It's a bit worrisome for everyone. People are afraid, I see it every day. But we are told in the media that things are looking up... really? Are you sure? Try your own little experiments - go to the mall and wander around. See that it might be full of people, but see how many are actually carrying purchases. See how many stores have bored clerks waiting at empty tills instead of dealing with lineups. See how many shops have the same sale signs up, or are repeatedly offering BIG sales as opposed to their 'BOGO' offers at full price. My favorite store that had 70% off up for so long now has 'second item only $2.99'. So both offers together for the past week or two. I am not seeing a recovery yet. I am seeing some scared people being very cautious for the most part.
This article via the Calgary Herald, dated May 2009, listed that over 11,000 new wells were dug in 2008, compared with a forecast of only 6600 for 2009. The article cites a few reasons such as increased US production, but makes a short reference to the increased royalties way at the bottom.
Whatever the reasons, drilling new wells has dropped by nearly half across Canada, but it's like Alberta's lifeblood and it concerns me. I see changes in a lot of industries around here. In my city, I swear many stores have had the same big sales going on since before Christmas. You know, when you see a sign in a clothing store that says '70% off! 2 Days Only!' but you see the sign up for 1.5 months so far? One place in particular I shop at often and know that they do not have sales up that long, and haven't since they opened up here several years ago. See, I only used to shop there if there was a major sale going on so I would keep my eye out for the big red Specials signs. Well, they have been up EVERY DAY since before Christmas. I would say since the Fall, end of season clearout sale just kept going. And it's been like that in many stores around here.
My job almost never has empty spaces, there is usually such a high demand for daycare, you have huge waiting lists. Just two years ago I remember telling people who called that we had over 25 kids on the waiting list, but only have 21 spaces to begin with. It was a regular thing to hear people expressing concern and disappointment at not being able to find a center, but not wanting to put their child in with a private sitter/dayhome (wanting security in numbers of adults). I listened to stories like that almost every day in the summer, several times a day. Now it's completely turned the other way. Our phone rings maybe once a MONTH with someone looking for a space. And then that person finds spaces at several other centers too (again, almost unheard of around here normally) so they get to go daycare shopping and pick which one they like the best. That is SO out of touch with how things usually are. And we even had 3 centers close down in the last few years - so you'd think the remaining ones would be even more full. But nope. We all have spaces and the most cited reason is that parents are not working as much, or some have lost their jobs completely, and they cannot put their kids into centers. I notice a heavy hit to the economy every day. Some of the kids we have left are missing their dads cos they ended up going to Mexico to work on the oil rigs. The rest are mostly single parent families who are still working in just above minimum wage jobs and get daycare subsidy anyway so they don't worry about the cost. It seems to be that a dark cloud is still over this province and I don't think many realize how bad it actually is. One center in particular here went through a huge renovation maybe 5-6 years ago, increasing their spaces from99 to 170 because of the high demand for care. But now they are struggling badly financially, cutting staff wages back, firing long term staff, and the extra spaces they built for are sitting there empty. It signals something is wrong. Dayhome companies here are down carers as well so it's not just that people are choosing different care.
Another thing that interests me is how they come up with the employment numbers. I have heard that as many as 80,000 have taken a hard hit to their wages, 15 to 25000 lost their jobs last year, or I've heard more or I've heard less. It's confusing to try to find out what is REALLY going on. Someone from a more populated area might read this and think 25,000 isn't 'too bad' but the entire province has a smaller population than the Toronto area, so 25 thousand is quite a big chunk. 80,000 is huge for us. But I wonder how they count those who have less hours. My bf is still considered full time, still goes to work almost every day, but we are on LESS THAN HALF what he has been for the past 5 years. Why? Because there are different levels of pay for Truck Time and Shop Time. He spends most days in the shop, which is a killer for our bank account, not to mention for his bosses who have to pay him even though they are barely doing anything these days. So if someone were to look at his weekly HOURS for tallying job losses in Alberta, they would see him almost at full time and occasionally getting overtime. They might pass him and his coworkers by as being 'gainfully employed' still but they are all struggling greatly. If you make $24/hr on the road trucking, but $14/hr in the shop and suddenly you are doing FAR more shop time than trucking - you do the math. That's a great cut to their usual wages. Not taking EI, not totally skint, but really struggling to keep up after a full year of this. He used to leave at 4am and get home at 8pm six or seven days a week. Now he leaves at 6 and gets home by 3pm. He has only had one overtime day in the past 3 months, which is WAY WAY WAY off the norm. I've been tallying up our grocery bill while I shop for the first time since I was a single mom making $10/hr. It's surreal.
My father in law and brother in law are working a lot more again, but they have some huge holes to fill from 9 months of not working last year. And they don't know yet if their rigs will have a Spring shutdown so they are working their butts off to try to save up some emergency cash. All their savings were used up last year. It's a bit worrisome for everyone. People are afraid, I see it every day. But we are told in the media that things are looking up... really? Are you sure? Try your own little experiments - go to the mall and wander around. See that it might be full of people, but see how many are actually carrying purchases. See how many stores have bored clerks waiting at empty tills instead of dealing with lineups. See how many shops have the same sale signs up, or are repeatedly offering BIG sales as opposed to their 'BOGO' offers at full price. My favorite store that had 70% off up for so long now has 'second item only $2.99'. So both offers together for the past week or two. I am not seeing a recovery yet. I am seeing some scared people being very cautious for the most part.
Friday, February 5, 2010
"Keep on Trucking!"
Hello my friends. I thought I should write a blog today. We hit over 600 followers now, and I thought that was a pretty cool thing for the blog. In just this last week we have had 4 major things happen. The birth of the "Deadly Dolz" (and the 3rd one is on board, and guess what, she is a famous scream queen as well. Basically we have 3 film stars doing this! Can I get a "Oh HELL YEAH!?) I finished 2nd in a MAJOR International people's choice art award. We hit our 100th blog, and today we hit 600 followers. Well, it's really a lot more if you count all the follower things. I'm just counting the FaceBook thing. So we are doing really good. In a time when we all have money and personal problems, this is something we all can take pride in. You all have made me what I am. Well, it started with Cheryl, then you guys, but we all did all of this together, and there are much cooler things on the horizon to look forward too. I have been taking it easy since I finished the little girl painting. I have been working, but not pushing it right now. I am rejuvenating for a little time would be the best way to put it.. I have a lot of new ideas going through my mind for the Deadly Dolz and The Book of Rose. An before you ask, The book of Rose is something like "The book of the Dead" but not really. There will be a game and all kinds of things that will be based on it, all created by me. An then I have tons of little projects that will be really cool as well. Monday also marked my 1 year anniversary of moving to Michigan. So far this year, the weather has been better here that their having it back home. Heck, I've done gotten use to going everywhere in the snow. It used to be a huge deal to get out in it back home, now it seems like it snows everyday. When Madison goes to work, I always check to make sure her car is warm and the windows are clear, and the headlights too. I've gotten so use to the cold, I don't even where boots or anything. I just got out in my slippers and I am proud of that. If you had told me a year ago the cold and snow wouldn't bother me no more, I would have laughed at you. Right now my sweetie is napping, but we are going out in a little bit. She wants to go play a game called Keyno. I've never played it, and will probably just watch her. It sounds like she really enjoys it, and she really deserves that. I know i can't change the past, but I get the feeling that she was not treated with the respect that she deserved in her past relationships. She is a darn good person, and is so full of love. Every time I see her when she wakes up I feel like this little boy inside of me is jumping up and down because I am so happy to see her. It's hard to believe my life has changed in a very short year, and all for the good. Sure there where a few bad things that happen, but that's life. Overall though, it has been wonderful. I honestly believe that if I hadn't came here and meet Cheryl, I would be dead now. My health had really gone down hill along with my mental health. I just didn't care anymore. But Cheryl's love saved me, and look at what has happen since. My biggest problem is anger issues, but everyday I get past that more and more. I feel like I've been given a second chance, and now I am thinking about that in a major way and asking myself, what will I do different this time. A lot, a whole lot. The thing I don't understand is this. I work in horror, and I love it. I grew up watching it, glued to the tube. I was goth before they even had a name for it. When I work or do the artist thing, my icon is scary, because what I do is scary. I do have a VERY dark side to me. On the other hand, as extreme as that dark side is, there is a "Light" side to me as well. I am very emotional. I cry all the time. The older I get, the worse it has gotten. When ever the "good guys" come out OK, I am crying because I am happy for them, the same if the story is sad. I wear my heart on my sleeve as the saying goes. People that love me, keep me from harm, because that is a bad thing in this cold world. But when someone uses me or hurts me or someone I love, I loose it anger wise.. It takes me years to get over some things. That's because I go from one extreme to another. But that is who I am, and if I wasn't, I wouldn't be doing the things that horror fans love, and you would have no idea of who I am. My art is about emotion, plain and simple. When I say I am in a dark mood, that usually means I am drawing on some past emotions of pain or angry to do a piece that I see in my ID. On one hand, I get letters daily from fans that say basically "your to nice to be who you are" and I wonder do some people think I am a Evil being because of the type of imagination I have. I know my brother and most of my family do. That is why I use the name Rose. There ashamed of me, lmao.. I am ashamed of them and I truly don't want people to know who I am related too, with the exception of my younger sisters family. An as much as I love her, she never calls when she says she will because, I guess, I am just to different. Hell if I know. No, chances are I am nothing like you or anyone you know. NO, I don't wake up plotting the end of the world, but I have nightmares that would make you think the end is here. If I was a God, the world would be like all the kid movies you see. Every one would be happy, everyone would love each other, but we know this world is nothing like that, and I have a gift for seeing the darkside, and live to draw about it. The Master once told me "be careful when you stare into the darkness, because it might stare back" lmao. I am the darkness staring back, and all the pain and betrayal that has been stabbed into my heart and soul has just feed it over the years. May the Darkness comfort you....
Trucking Jobs have Dropped During the Recession
The >Bureau of Labor Statistics has recently issued a study that shows how employment in the truck transportation industry has dropped from 1.45 million jobs before 2008 to about 1.25 million trucking jobs by the end of 2009. This decrease of 200,000 drivers is significant not only for the truckers, but also for the manufacturers and merchants that sell the goods that these guys deliver.You can see in the above chart that the severity of the decline in this recession (Green Line) is much steeper and prolonged than what it was in the prior two recessionary periods.
Arrest Made In Death Of OR Tower
Our condolences to the family and acquaintances of James Wightman, who was killed on Feb. 1 in the cab of his tow truck while at Manheim San Francisco Auto Auction. Here's the story from oregonlive.com:
Police arrested a 34-year-old California man today in a double homicide in the San Francisco Bay area involving a truck driver from Southern Oregon.
Karl George Sanft
Karl George Sanft, a 34-year-old from Union City, Calif., faces murder allegations in the killing of James Wightman, a 56-year-old truck driver from Central Point, and 63-year-old Angelito Erasquin, a security guard in Hayward, Calif.
They were found stabbed multiple times on Tuesday. Police said Wightman was found dead in the cab of his idling truck in the Manheim San Francisco Bay Auto Auction in Hayward. Erasquin, a security guard at the auto auction, was found dead near the entrance.
Police said Sanft was arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of car theft. They said he later confessed to the murders. They said Sanft stabbed Erasquin while breaking into the yard to steal a car. They said evidence indicated that the suspect targeted Wightman as a witness.
James WightmanWightman, a father and grandfather, routinely delivered cars to the auction site, which covers 73 acres in Hayward
A former colleague described him as a jokester who would often kid with dispatchers, according to a story in the Medford Mail Tribune.
Sanft is scheduled to be arraigned on Friday.
-- Lynne Terry
This is the story from Land Line Magazine about the incident:
OOIDA member stabbed to death in his tow truck
Police arrested a 34-year-old California man today in a double homicide in the San Francisco Bay area involving a truck driver from Southern Oregon.
Karl George Sanft
Karl George Sanft, a 34-year-old from Union City, Calif., faces murder allegations in the killing of James Wightman, a 56-year-old truck driver from Central Point, and 63-year-old Angelito Erasquin, a security guard in Hayward, Calif.
They were found stabbed multiple times on Tuesday. Police said Wightman was found dead in the cab of his idling truck in the Manheim San Francisco Bay Auto Auction in Hayward. Erasquin, a security guard at the auto auction, was found dead near the entrance.
Police said Sanft was arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of car theft. They said he later confessed to the murders. They said Sanft stabbed Erasquin while breaking into the yard to steal a car. They said evidence indicated that the suspect targeted Wightman as a witness.
James WightmanWightman, a father and grandfather, routinely delivered cars to the auction site, which covers 73 acres in Hayward
A former colleague described him as a jokester who would often kid with dispatchers, according to a story in the Medford Mail Tribune.
Sanft is scheduled to be arraigned on Friday.
-- Lynne Terry
This is the story from Land Line Magazine about the incident:
OOIDA member stabbed to death in his tow truck
One of the two men who were stabbed to death at an auto auction lot in Hayward, CA, on Monday morning was an OOIDA member.
Police say 56-year-old James Wightman of Central Point, OR, was found in the cab of his tow truck with multiple stab wounds.
A 63-year-old uniformed security guard was also found dead near the entrance gate.
The San Jose Mercury News reported that Wightman has five children and had been trucking for 20 years. A co-worker describes him as “a jolly man.”
The manager of the tow company where he worked says Wightman made frequent trips to the auction lot to pick up or deliver cars – but on that Monday morning he was just catching some sleep in the lot.
Police aren’t discussing any possible motives – but say they have strong leads in the case.
Overweight Trucks fuel Road Rage
In the space of a week, give or take a dozen hours, five drivers received citations for overweight trucks hauling loads to gas drilling sites.
On Tuesday, January 26, Kevin Parsons parked his truck on Covered Bridge Road in Burlington Township, Bradford County, PA. He was driving a truck for Hodges Trucking Company, out of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, a company that is listed by Chesapeake Energy lists as a subsidiary on its Web site. Had Parsons read the road signs he would have known that Covered Bridge Road is posted for a weight limit of 10 tons, and he might have chosen a less conspicuous place to park.
You see, the state police noticed the truck because it was parked illegally. They thought it looked a bit heavy, so they hauled out their handy-dandy scale and discovered that Parsons' truck weighed more than 51 tons. Not only was that 41-plus tons over the posted weight limit, but that's a lot of extra tonnage to be hauling around on two-lane gravel-and-oil country roads.
The police also found a whole bunch of permit violations and fined Parsons $25,000.
Then, just yesterday the state police fined four more drivers of gas industry service trucks for hauling illegal oversize loads. The guys, driving in a convoy, were stopped on US Route 6 in North Towanda. They were employed by T.K. Stanley Inc., an energy industry services company based in Waynesboro, Mississippi, a company that provides everything from roustabouts to preparing drilling sites to trucking in the drill rigs and equipment. Their fines ranged from $1440 to $6600. Unfortunately, the truckers couldn't post bail and were sent to the hoosegow to cool their heels.
Ask people what they're concerned about with drilling and somewhere near the top of the list is "truck traffic". People worry that overweight trucks will put undue wear and tear on the road. They worry that the increased amount of traffic will put additional wear and tear on the roads. They worry that speeding truckers may run into school buses (this has also happened recently; thankfully no one was hurt). They worry that truckers from Oklahoma and Alabama may not know how to drive on steep icy mountain roads. Well, maybe after this winter the good folks in Oklahoma will have mastered the art of steering into a skid, but still, these concerns are valid.
But what really galls most people is the idea that the gas companies will tear up the roads, extract the natural gas, and skip town leaving the taxpayers to cover the costs of repairing the roads. People are outraged at the idea that the public will be subsidizing the profits of wealthy multinational corporations - and a few lucky landowners who happen to strike it rich.
On Tuesday, January 26, Kevin Parsons parked his truck on Covered Bridge Road in Burlington Township, Bradford County, PA. He was driving a truck for Hodges Trucking Company, out of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, a company that is listed by Chesapeake Energy lists as a subsidiary on its Web site. Had Parsons read the road signs he would have known that Covered Bridge Road is posted for a weight limit of 10 tons, and he might have chosen a less conspicuous place to park.
You see, the state police noticed the truck because it was parked illegally. They thought it looked a bit heavy, so they hauled out their handy-dandy scale and discovered that Parsons' truck weighed more than 51 tons. Not only was that 41-plus tons over the posted weight limit, but that's a lot of extra tonnage to be hauling around on two-lane gravel-and-oil country roads.
The police also found a whole bunch of permit violations and fined Parsons $25,000.
Then, just yesterday the state police fined four more drivers of gas industry service trucks for hauling illegal oversize loads. The guys, driving in a convoy, were stopped on US Route 6 in North Towanda. They were employed by T.K. Stanley Inc., an energy industry services company based in Waynesboro, Mississippi, a company that provides everything from roustabouts to preparing drilling sites to trucking in the drill rigs and equipment. Their fines ranged from $1440 to $6600. Unfortunately, the truckers couldn't post bail and were sent to the hoosegow to cool their heels.
Ask people what they're concerned about with drilling and somewhere near the top of the list is "truck traffic". People worry that overweight trucks will put undue wear and tear on the road. They worry that the increased amount of traffic will put additional wear and tear on the roads. They worry that speeding truckers may run into school buses (this has also happened recently; thankfully no one was hurt). They worry that truckers from Oklahoma and Alabama may not know how to drive on steep icy mountain roads. Well, maybe after this winter the good folks in Oklahoma will have mastered the art of steering into a skid, but still, these concerns are valid.
But what really galls most people is the idea that the gas companies will tear up the roads, extract the natural gas, and skip town leaving the taxpayers to cover the costs of repairing the roads. People are outraged at the idea that the public will be subsidizing the profits of wealthy multinational corporations - and a few lucky landowners who happen to strike it rich.
Trucking on a Journey
I've been wanting to add to my "wanderlust" series. And here it is: A truck AND a bike. An orange bike to be exact. Since it is my super fav color, I just had too. The words have been added in photoshop for a new card series I'm making. This is definitely a mixed media piece....a little map, a little paper, a little paint. It's on the small size too, 8x10" on gallery wrapped deep canvas. So, this weekend, take life a little slower and enjoy the journey.
So, wanderlust on your mind now? Did you know that is a real word? Vero over at Naked Art had wanted to use it in my solo show title and I was like "heck no!". I am a good little southern gal who does not talk about lust in public. Much less have it blaring in the title for my solo show. (I'm also a little sheltered I suppose since that word made me totally blush.) And then I looked it up, and there it was in Webster. It says, "strong or unconquerable longing for or impulse toward wandering." Yep. And since this little art journey of mine could be on the verge of wandering without an end in site, I am thinking that maybe wanderlust is the perfect word to sum it all up.
So, wanderlust on your mind now? Did you know that is a real word? Vero over at Naked Art had wanted to use it in my solo show title and I was like "heck no!". I am a good little southern gal who does not talk about lust in public. Much less have it blaring in the title for my solo show. (I'm also a little sheltered I suppose since that word made me totally blush.) And then I looked it up, and there it was in Webster. It says, "strong or unconquerable longing for or impulse toward wandering." Yep. And since this little art journey of mine could be on the verge of wandering without an end in site, I am thinking that maybe wanderlust is the perfect word to sum it all up.
Trucking Jobs have Dropped During the Recession
The >Bureau of Labor Statistics has recently issued a study that shows how employment in the truck transportation industry has dropped from 1.45 million jobs before 2008 to about 1.25 million trucking jobs by the end of 2009. This decrease of 200,000 drivers is significant not only for the truckers, but also for the manufacturers and merchants that sell the goods that these guys deliver.You can see in the above chart that the severity of the decline in this recession (Green Line) is much steeper and prolonged than what it was in the prior two recessionary periods.
Azteca Supply, Its Owner, and Owner's Husband Indicted for Alleged Minority Contract Fraud, Including Two O’Hare Projects
February 4, 2010 - CHICAGO—The owner of a Chicago company certified as a minority- and woman-owned business, her husband, and her company were indicted today on federal fraud charges for allegedly steering minority contracts through the company and collecting more than $9.5 million in fraudulent payments from three projects, including two at O’Hare International Airport. The company, Azteca Supply Co., allegedly fraudulently received $9,695,168, between 2001 and July 2008 while being hired as a sham contractor on runway and restroom projects at O’Hare for the City of Chicago, and on a landscaping project at a new Metra commuter rail station for the south suburban Village of Orland Park.
As part of the alleged fraud scheme, following an interview between Azteca’s owner, Aurora Venegas, and an investigator with the City of Chicago’s Inspector General’s Office in November 2007, Venegas, her husband, Thomas Masen, and others allegedly made it appear that Azteca maintained an inventory of concrete pipe at the plant of a Franklin Park company where Masen worked. Venegas allegedly staged Azteca’s warehouse to make it appear that she kept inventory of other products, and she asked to borrow inventory from another company so that if an inspection occurred, Azteca could falsely convey that it maintained products that it claimed to sell.
Venegas, 61, president and sole owner of Azteca, and the company itself were each charged with five counts of mail fraud in a six-count indictment returned today by a federal grand jury. Masen, 65, the comptroller and secretary of a Franklin Park concrete pipe manufacturing company, was charged with two counts of mail fraud and one count of making false statements to the federal agents. The couple resides in Aurora. All three defendants will be arraigned at a later date in U.S. District Court in Chicago.
“The use of sham minority contractors cheats not only the governments that provide opportunities to bid on public contracts, but it also deprives legitimate minority and women-owned businesses from competing to obtain work on such projects,” said Patrick J. Fitzgerald, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. “The City of Chicago Inspector General’s Office is a valuable partner with the FBI in this investigation.”
Mr. Fitzgerald announced the charges with Robert D. Grant, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Joseph Ferguson, Inspector General for the City of Chicago. The investigation is continuing, they said.
“Subversion of the M/WBE program strikes at the heart of a critically important engine for the generation of jobs and opportunities in communities long left on the outside looking in. In today’s challenging economic climate, it is even more important to assure that every program dollar reaches its target communities, and that subversion of the program is prosecuted to the fullest extent,” Mr. Ferguson said.
According to the indictment, Azteca was certified by the City of Chicago as a minority business enterprise (MBE), women’s business enterprise (WBE), and a disadvantaged business enterprise (DBE). To obtain and maintain this status, Venegas allegedly falsely represented that she performed a commercially useful function; that she did not perform brokering services between Azteca and other companies; and that she was the only person who provided estimates for Azteca’s contracts. Based on Azteca’s status as a MBE, WBE and DBE contractor for the City of Chicago, Metra provided reciprocal status for its contracts.
The indictment alleges that Venegas learned from customers what supplies they needed and caused Azteca to act solely as a broker in shipping those items from actual suppliers to customers in violation of MBE, WBE and DBE contract requirements. Venegas and Azteca allegedly generated invoices to make it appear as though Azteca had complied with contract requirements when, in fact, Venegas and Azteca had played no role whatsoever.
Despite being employed by Company A, the indictment alleges that Masen frequently directed Venegas and Azteca as to how Azteca should charge for certain goods sold to customers and how much Venegas should mark up those items. Masen frequently interacted directly with Azteca’s customers and used Azteca as a “pass-through” to make it appear that customers were purchasing goods from Azteca when, in fact, they were purchasing goods directly from Company A, according to the indictment.
The O’Hare Runway Subcontract
Between May 2007 and July 2008, Azteca received more than $9 million in payments on a City of Chicago contract, offered for bidding in May 2006, described as the South Airfield 10C-28C East Mass Grading Project as part of the O’Hare Modernization Program. The contract required at least 24 percent MBE and 4 percent WBE participation. In February 2007, Venegas and Azteca received the runway subcontract with Company E, a general contractor with a facility in Elgin, and Venegas agreed that Azteca would supply reinforced concrete pipe and not subcontract any portion of the work.
As part of the alleged fraud scheme, Venegas and Azteca provided no useful services to Company E, which instead dealt directly with Company A for its concrete pipe needs on the runway project, the indictment alleges. Company E received quotes and ordered concrete pipe directly from Company A and Masen, who allegedly directed Azteca regarding how much it should charge Company E for the pipe products as well as how much profit Azteca should make on the sale of each item. An employee of Company E contacted Masen directly to schedule and make arrangements for deliveries of concrete pipe, and Masen directed a trucking company to deliver the goods to Company E’s job site and then instructed Azteca to pay the trucking company, the indictment alleges.
Neither Venegas nor Azteca did any substantial part of the estimating, ordering, purchasing or delivery of concrete pipe until after the FBI executed search warrants at Company A and Azteca on July 17, 2008. During the execution of the warrant at Company A, Masen allegedly lied to an FBI agent when he told them that Azteca decided its own markup before bidding on a job and Company A offered no input in Azteca’s markup, and that he (Masen) had no input in running Azteca.
The O’Hare Contract
Between October 2001 and September 2007, Venegas and Azteca received approximately $638,000 in payments on a Chicago contract to supply the women’s restrooms at O’Hare with a feminine hygiene product disposal system manufactured by Company B, which has a facility in Naperville. The contract called for a MBE or WBE company to obtain disposal units from Company B and to service, clean and replace them during the life of the contract, and to perform at least 50 percent of the contract with its own workforce. In March 2001, Venegas signed and submitted a bid fraudulently representing that Azteca would provide 95 percent of the value of the O’Hare restroom contract, the indictment alleges.
After receiving the contract, Venegas and Azteca allegedly did not perform any significant work and all significant portions were performed instead by Company B under an oral subcontract with Azteca.
The Main Street Triangle Project
In 2007, Venegas and Azteca allegedly received approximately $57,168 in fraudulent payments from a landscaping installation company that itself had been hired as a subcontractor on a Village of Orland Park project to provide landscaping around a new Metra station known as the Main Street Triangle Project. The contract and subcontracts had goals of providing 10 percent MBE and 5 percent WBE participation. According to the indictment, in 2007, Venegas was asked by representatives of Company C, the landscaping installer, and Company D, a landscaping supply company, to act as a pass-though for the landscaping subcontract of the project. Venegas allegedly agreed to act as a fraudulent pass-through in exchange for 5 percent of Company C’s subcontract payments.
Venegas and Azteca effectively had no role in the landscaping subcontract, the indictment alleges, and Companies C and D communicated directly regarding the plants that Company C required. Venegas allegedly agreed with both companies that Azteca would generate false invoices and other documents to make it appear as though Azteca had purchased the plants from Company D and supplied them to Company C to comply with the contract requirements. In fact, Venegas and Azteca performed no role in ordering, storing or delivering the plants used in the project.
The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney April Perry.
Each count of mail fraud carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. If convicted, Azteca would face a maximum penalty of five years' probation and a $500,000 fine on each count. As an alternative, the Court may impose a maximum fine equal to twice the loss to any victim or twice the gain to any defendant, whichever is greater and restitution is mandatory. Making false statements carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The Court would determine the appropriate sentence under the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.
The public is reminded that an indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
As part of the alleged fraud scheme, following an interview between Azteca’s owner, Aurora Venegas, and an investigator with the City of Chicago’s Inspector General’s Office in November 2007, Venegas, her husband, Thomas Masen, and others allegedly made it appear that Azteca maintained an inventory of concrete pipe at the plant of a Franklin Park company where Masen worked. Venegas allegedly staged Azteca’s warehouse to make it appear that she kept inventory of other products, and she asked to borrow inventory from another company so that if an inspection occurred, Azteca could falsely convey that it maintained products that it claimed to sell.
Venegas, 61, president and sole owner of Azteca, and the company itself were each charged with five counts of mail fraud in a six-count indictment returned today by a federal grand jury. Masen, 65, the comptroller and secretary of a Franklin Park concrete pipe manufacturing company, was charged with two counts of mail fraud and one count of making false statements to the federal agents. The couple resides in Aurora. All three defendants will be arraigned at a later date in U.S. District Court in Chicago.
“The use of sham minority contractors cheats not only the governments that provide opportunities to bid on public contracts, but it also deprives legitimate minority and women-owned businesses from competing to obtain work on such projects,” said Patrick J. Fitzgerald, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. “The City of Chicago Inspector General’s Office is a valuable partner with the FBI in this investigation.”
Mr. Fitzgerald announced the charges with Robert D. Grant, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Joseph Ferguson, Inspector General for the City of Chicago. The investigation is continuing, they said.
“Subversion of the M/WBE program strikes at the heart of a critically important engine for the generation of jobs and opportunities in communities long left on the outside looking in. In today’s challenging economic climate, it is even more important to assure that every program dollar reaches its target communities, and that subversion of the program is prosecuted to the fullest extent,” Mr. Ferguson said.
According to the indictment, Azteca was certified by the City of Chicago as a minority business enterprise (MBE), women’s business enterprise (WBE), and a disadvantaged business enterprise (DBE). To obtain and maintain this status, Venegas allegedly falsely represented that she performed a commercially useful function; that she did not perform brokering services between Azteca and other companies; and that she was the only person who provided estimates for Azteca’s contracts. Based on Azteca’s status as a MBE, WBE and DBE contractor for the City of Chicago, Metra provided reciprocal status for its contracts.
The indictment alleges that Venegas learned from customers what supplies they needed and caused Azteca to act solely as a broker in shipping those items from actual suppliers to customers in violation of MBE, WBE and DBE contract requirements. Venegas and Azteca allegedly generated invoices to make it appear as though Azteca had complied with contract requirements when, in fact, Venegas and Azteca had played no role whatsoever.
Despite being employed by Company A, the indictment alleges that Masen frequently directed Venegas and Azteca as to how Azteca should charge for certain goods sold to customers and how much Venegas should mark up those items. Masen frequently interacted directly with Azteca’s customers and used Azteca as a “pass-through” to make it appear that customers were purchasing goods from Azteca when, in fact, they were purchasing goods directly from Company A, according to the indictment.
The O’Hare Runway Subcontract
Between May 2007 and July 2008, Azteca received more than $9 million in payments on a City of Chicago contract, offered for bidding in May 2006, described as the South Airfield 10C-28C East Mass Grading Project as part of the O’Hare Modernization Program. The contract required at least 24 percent MBE and 4 percent WBE participation. In February 2007, Venegas and Azteca received the runway subcontract with Company E, a general contractor with a facility in Elgin, and Venegas agreed that Azteca would supply reinforced concrete pipe and not subcontract any portion of the work.
As part of the alleged fraud scheme, Venegas and Azteca provided no useful services to Company E, which instead dealt directly with Company A for its concrete pipe needs on the runway project, the indictment alleges. Company E received quotes and ordered concrete pipe directly from Company A and Masen, who allegedly directed Azteca regarding how much it should charge Company E for the pipe products as well as how much profit Azteca should make on the sale of each item. An employee of Company E contacted Masen directly to schedule and make arrangements for deliveries of concrete pipe, and Masen directed a trucking company to deliver the goods to Company E’s job site and then instructed Azteca to pay the trucking company, the indictment alleges.
Neither Venegas nor Azteca did any substantial part of the estimating, ordering, purchasing or delivery of concrete pipe until after the FBI executed search warrants at Company A and Azteca on July 17, 2008. During the execution of the warrant at Company A, Masen allegedly lied to an FBI agent when he told them that Azteca decided its own markup before bidding on a job and Company A offered no input in Azteca’s markup, and that he (Masen) had no input in running Azteca.
The O’Hare Contract
Between October 2001 and September 2007, Venegas and Azteca received approximately $638,000 in payments on a Chicago contract to supply the women’s restrooms at O’Hare with a feminine hygiene product disposal system manufactured by Company B, which has a facility in Naperville. The contract called for a MBE or WBE company to obtain disposal units from Company B and to service, clean and replace them during the life of the contract, and to perform at least 50 percent of the contract with its own workforce. In March 2001, Venegas signed and submitted a bid fraudulently representing that Azteca would provide 95 percent of the value of the O’Hare restroom contract, the indictment alleges.
After receiving the contract, Venegas and Azteca allegedly did not perform any significant work and all significant portions were performed instead by Company B under an oral subcontract with Azteca.
The Main Street Triangle Project
In 2007, Venegas and Azteca allegedly received approximately $57,168 in fraudulent payments from a landscaping installation company that itself had been hired as a subcontractor on a Village of Orland Park project to provide landscaping around a new Metra station known as the Main Street Triangle Project. The contract and subcontracts had goals of providing 10 percent MBE and 5 percent WBE participation. According to the indictment, in 2007, Venegas was asked by representatives of Company C, the landscaping installer, and Company D, a landscaping supply company, to act as a pass-though for the landscaping subcontract of the project. Venegas allegedly agreed to act as a fraudulent pass-through in exchange for 5 percent of Company C’s subcontract payments.
Venegas and Azteca effectively had no role in the landscaping subcontract, the indictment alleges, and Companies C and D communicated directly regarding the plants that Company C required. Venegas allegedly agreed with both companies that Azteca would generate false invoices and other documents to make it appear as though Azteca had purchased the plants from Company D and supplied them to Company C to comply with the contract requirements. In fact, Venegas and Azteca performed no role in ordering, storing or delivering the plants used in the project.
The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney April Perry.
Each count of mail fraud carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. If convicted, Azteca would face a maximum penalty of five years' probation and a $500,000 fine on each count. As an alternative, the Court may impose a maximum fine equal to twice the loss to any victim or twice the gain to any defendant, whichever is greater and restitution is mandatory. Making false statements carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The Court would determine the appropriate sentence under the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.
The public is reminded that an indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Sholem Bernstein
Apologies for the slowing down of posts since the beginning of the new year but as I have mentioned earlier I've been busy with other projects. As most people who freelance surely know, work schedules can be far from concrete and routine.
In that time though I have managed to finish up another portrait to add to the series. This time around is the lesser known Sholem Bernstein, a low level operative of the Brooklyn / Brownsville troop of Murder Inc. soldiers.
Bernstein was a talented car thief whose services were instrumental in procuring getaway cars that would later trace to a dead end in an investigation.
Nothing of much importance was ever given to Bernstein further than placing his hands on the ten o'clock and two o'clock behind numerous stolen steering wheels, and pushing down on the gas. Sholem, who some called Sol, drove the getaway car at the fateful murder of candy store owner Joseph Rosen in 1936. Rosen was a former garment industry worker whose trucking business had been forced into retirement by Louis 'Lepke' Buchalter's powerful influence over labor racketeering in New York. Rosen was set up with a small candy store in Brooklyn by Lepke in order to try to help the man support his family. This was after a few missteps Rosen had working for a couple of other trucking companies under Buchalter's control. The candy shop faltered and Rosen, understandably embittered towards Buchalter, demanded financial reprimand and rumors flew that the candy man was looking to blow the whistle on Lepke's empire with one quick visit to Thomas Dewey's office.
Sholem Bernstein was driving the car with Emanuel 'Mendy' Weiss as one of his passengers that Sunday morning on September 13 when Rosen was face down in his candy store, his body host to seventeen bullet holes. Joe Rosen's murder seemed perhaps inconsequential at the time to Lepke, who had overseen and ordered numerous syndicate hits, all calculated carefully, but this one would later prove to be the foundation of his downfall, and lead to his trip to the electric chair in 1944.
Inevitably Bernstien's small potato stature within the crew who ran the underworld in King's County manifested him into an easy pushover when threatened by District Attorney William O'Dwyer and prosecutor Burton Turkus. Bernstein was holed up in room 622 of The Half Moon Hotel in Coney Island; his neighbor in room 623 was Abe Reles. He was one of the four important turncoats under police protection, along with Allie 'Tick Tock' Tannenbaum and Mickey Sycoff, who were across the hall in room 626.
Tannenbaum and Bernstein were key figures in Buchlater's trial for the prosecution, with Tannenbaum's corroboration of the planned murder and the eye witness account from Bernstein, which sealed Mendy Weiss' fate as well. Amazingly enough, court transcripts from the trial detailed Bernstein's attempted extortion racket that he tried to run while passing the sometimes agonizingly long hours under lock down at the Half Moon. This was done through threatening letters sent out to potential victims, passing through the hands of the policemen on duty onto their intended destination. The scam however proved unsucessful.
Like fellow stoolies Allie Tannenbaum and Abe 'Pretty' Levine, Sholem Bernstein disappeared from sight and was never heard from again following the fall out of the trails and subsequent string of executions. His post-Murder Inc. days still remain a mystery.
Thanks for a good joke, Jo Hensley!
Ha Ha! Thanks Jo Hensley!
----- Original Message -----
From: Joann Hensley
To: Jo Hensley
Sent: Thursday, February 04, 2010 11:02 PM
Subject: A GOOD One
Ha!
Olie's car was hit by a truck in an accident. In court, the trucking company's lawyer was questioning Olie.
'Didn't you say, sir, at the scene of the accident, 'I'm fine?' asked the lawyer.
Olie responded, 'Vell, I'll tell you vat happened. I had yust loaded my favorite mule, Bessie, into da....'
'I didn't ask for any details', the lawyer interrupted. 'Just answer the question. Did you not say, at the scene of the accident, 'I'm fine'?
Olie said, 'Vell, I had yust got Bessie into da trailer and I vas driving down da road...
The lawyer interrupted again and said, 'Judge, I am trying to establish the fact that, at the scene of the accident, this man told the Highway Patrolman on the scene that he was just fine. Now several weeks after the accident he is trying to sue my client. I believe he is a fraud. Please tell him to simply answer the question.'
By this time, the Judge was fairly interested in Olie's answer and said to the lawyer, 'I'd like to hear what he has to say about his favorite mule, Bessie'.
Olie thanked the Judge and proceeded. 'Vell, as I vas saying, I had yust loaded Bessie, my favorite mule, into da trailer and vas driving her down da highvay ven dis huge semi-truck and trailer ran da stop sign and smacked my truck right in da side. I vas trown into one ditch and Bessie vas trown into da other. I vas hurting real bad and didn't vant to move. However, I could hear Bessie moaning and groaning. I knew she was in terrible shape yust by her groans'. 'Shortly after da accident da Highway Patrolman, he came to da scene.. He could hear Bessie moaning and groaning so he vent over to her'..
'After he looked at her and saw her fatal condition he took out his gun and shot her right 'tween da eyes.
Den da Patrolman, he came across da road, gun still smoking, looked at me and said, 'How are you feeling?'
'Now vat da hell vould YOU say?
----- Original Message -----
From: Joann Hensley
To: Jo Hensley
Sent: Thursday, February 04, 2010 11:02 PM
Subject: A GOOD One
Ha!
Olie's car was hit by a truck in an accident. In court, the trucking company's lawyer was questioning Olie.
'Didn't you say, sir, at the scene of the accident, 'I'm fine?' asked the lawyer.
Olie responded, 'Vell, I'll tell you vat happened. I had yust loaded my favorite mule, Bessie, into da....'
'I didn't ask for any details', the lawyer interrupted. 'Just answer the question. Did you not say, at the scene of the accident, 'I'm fine'?
Olie said, 'Vell, I had yust got Bessie into da trailer and I vas driving down da road...
The lawyer interrupted again and said, 'Judge, I am trying to establish the fact that, at the scene of the accident, this man told the Highway Patrolman on the scene that he was just fine. Now several weeks after the accident he is trying to sue my client. I believe he is a fraud. Please tell him to simply answer the question.'
By this time, the Judge was fairly interested in Olie's answer and said to the lawyer, 'I'd like to hear what he has to say about his favorite mule, Bessie'.
Olie thanked the Judge and proceeded. 'Vell, as I vas saying, I had yust loaded Bessie, my favorite mule, into da trailer and vas driving her down da highvay ven dis huge semi-truck and trailer ran da stop sign and smacked my truck right in da side. I vas trown into one ditch and Bessie vas trown into da other. I vas hurting real bad and didn't vant to move. However, I could hear Bessie moaning and groaning. I knew she was in terrible shape yust by her groans'. 'Shortly after da accident da Highway Patrolman, he came to da scene.. He could hear Bessie moaning and groaning so he vent over to her'..
'After he looked at her and saw her fatal condition he took out his gun and shot her right 'tween da eyes.
Den da Patrolman, he came across da road, gun still smoking, looked at me and said, 'How are you feeling?'
'Now vat da hell vould YOU say?
"Keep on Trucking!"
Hello my friends. I thought I should write a blog today. We hit over 600 followers now, and I thought that was a pretty cool thing for the blog. In just this last week we have had 4 major things happen. The birth of the "Deadly Dolz" (and the 3rd one is on board, and guess what, she is a famous scream queen as well. Basically we have 3 film stars doing this! Can I get a "Oh HELL YEAH!?) I finished 2nd in a MAJOR International people's choice art award. We hit our 100th blog, and today we hit 600 followers. Well, it's really a lot more if you count all the follower things. I'm just counting the FaceBook thing. So we are doing really good. In a time when we all have money and personal problems, this is something we all can take pride in. You all have made me what I am. Well, it started with Cheryl, then you guys, but we all did all of this together, and there are much cooler things on the horizon to look forward too. I have been taking it easy since I finished the little girl painting. I have been working, but not pushing it right now. I am rejuvenating for a little time would be the best way to put it.. I have a lot of new ideas going through my mind for the Deadly Dolz and The Book of Rose. An before you ask, The book of Rose is something like "The book of the Dead" but not really. There will be a game and all kinds of things that will be based on it, all created by me. An then I have tons of little projects that will be really cool as well. Monday also marked my 1 year anniversary of moving to Michigan. So far this year, the weather has been better here that their having it back home. Heck, I've done gotten use to going everywhere in the snow. It used to be a huge deal to get out in it back home, now it seems like it snows everyday. When Madison goes to work, I always check to make sure her car is warm and the windows are clear, and the headlights too. I've gotten so use to the cold, I don't even where boots or anything. I just got out in my slippers and I am proud of that. If you had told me a year ago the cold and snow wouldn't bother me no more, I would have laughed at you. Right now my sweetie is napping, but we are going out in a little bit. She wants to go play a game called Keyno. I've never played it, and will probably just watch her. It sounds like she really enjoys it, and she really deserves that. I know i can't change the past, but I get the feeling that she was not treated with the respect that she deserved in her past relationships. She is a darn good person, and is so full of love. Every time I see her when she wakes up I feel like this little boy inside of me is jumping up and down because I am so happy to see her. It's hard to believe my life has changed in a very short year, and all for the good. Sure there where a few bad things that happen, but that's life. Overall though, it has been wonderful. I honestly believe that if I hadn't came here and meet Cheryl, I would be dead now. My health had really gone down hill along with my mental health. I just didn't care anymore. But Cheryl's love saved me, and look at what has happen since. My biggest problem is anger issues, but everyday I get past that more and more. I feel like I've been given a second chance, and now I am thinking about that in a major way and asking myself, what will I do different this time. A lot, a whole lot. The thing I don't understand is this. I work in horror, and I love it. I grew up watching it, glued to the tube. I was goth before they even had a name for it. When I work or do the artist thing, my icon is scary, because what I do is scary. I do have a VERY dark side to me. On the other hand, as extreme as that dark side is, there is a "Light" side to me as well. I am very emotional. I cry all the time. The older I get, the worse it has gotten. When ever the "good guys" come out OK, I am crying because I am happy for them, the same if the story is sad. I wear my heart on my sleeve as the saying goes. People that love me, keep me from harm, because that is a bad thing in this cold world. But when someone uses me or hurts me or someone I love, I loose it anger wise.. It takes me years to get over some things. That's because I go from one extreme to another. But that is who I am, and if I wasn't, I wouldn't be doing the things that horror fans love, and you would have no idea of who I am. My art is about emotion, plain and simple. When I say I am in a dark mood, that usually means I am drawing on some past emotions of pain or angry to do a piece that I see in my ID. On one hand, I get letters daily from fans that say basically "your to nice to be who you are" and I wonder do some people think I am a Evil being because of the type of imagination I have. I know my brother and most of my family do. That is why I use the name Rose. There ashamed of me, lmao.. I am ashamed of them and I truly don't want people to know who I am related too, with the exception of my younger sisters family. An as much as I love her, she never calls when she says she will because, I guess, I am just to different. Hell if I know. No, chances are I am nothing like you or anyone you know. NO, I don't wake up plotting the end of the world, but I have nightmares that would make you think the end is here. If I was a God, the world would be like all the kid movies you see. Every one would be happy, everyone would love each other, but we know this world is nothing like that, and I have a gift for seeing the darkside, and live to draw about it. The Master once told me "be careful when you stare into the darkness, because it might stare back" lmao. I am the darkness staring back, and all the pain and betrayal that has been stabbed into my heart and soul has just feed it over the years. May the Darkness comfort you....
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Transportation Industry Downsizing
Washington can twist words, use their fancy rhetoric, but we are headed for economic disaster. We are in a recession and people are losing their jobs! 85,000 lost jobs in December alone.
And, now I hear talk that China is becoming the dominant superpower.
Scares me and makes me sad because this is our children's future that is at stake.
It really hit home when I saw this while traveling in the north part of our state.
Yes, the transportation industry is hurting too. A dramatic slowdown in consumer demand has been crippling the Nation's trucking firms.
What will happen when the Walmart trucks slow down? Where will you get your milk, eggs, bread? Or, your soap, toilet paper, razor blades?
Did you know that 11,000 Walmart warehouse (Sams) employees were laid off UNEXPECTEDLY a few weeks ago. And, 300 administrative positions at the Arkansas headquarters were laid off yesterday. You know it is scary when Walmart is laying people off.
Now, I know this was just a funny trucker with this on the back of his truck. I did find it hilarious. Then, being a mother of boys, I knew that was a Tonka tractor, yep, made in China.
Praying for our country,
The Park Wife
And, now I hear talk that China is becoming the dominant superpower.
Scares me and makes me sad because this is our children's future that is at stake.
It really hit home when I saw this while traveling in the north part of our state.
Yes, the transportation industry is hurting too. A dramatic slowdown in consumer demand has been crippling the Nation's trucking firms.
What will happen when the Walmart trucks slow down? Where will you get your milk, eggs, bread? Or, your soap, toilet paper, razor blades?
Did you know that 11,000 Walmart warehouse (Sams) employees were laid off UNEXPECTEDLY a few weeks ago. And, 300 administrative positions at the Arkansas headquarters were laid off yesterday. You know it is scary when Walmart is laying people off.
Now, I know this was just a funny trucker with this on the back of his truck. I did find it hilarious. Then, being a mother of boys, I knew that was a Tonka tractor, yep, made in China.
Praying for our country,
The Park Wife
Trucking Jobs have Dropped During the Recession
The >Bureau of Labor Statistics has recently issued a study that shows how employment in the truck transportation industry has dropped from 1.45 million jobs before 2008 to about 1.25 million trucking jobs by the end of 2009. This decrease of 200,000 drivers is significant not only for the truckers, but also for the manufacturers and merchants that sell the goods that these guys deliver.
You can see in the above chart that the severity of the decline in this recession (Green Line) is much steeper and prolonged than what it was in the prior two recessionary periods.
Sunny and Cold in Connecticut
Another two-stop Staples delivery completed, this time in Connecticut. First stop was at a Staples Distribution Center in Plainfield (photo above). Second stop was at a Staples DC near Wauregan (photo below). Security personnel at the second stop graciously allowed us to park for DOT break tonight on their lot just outside the main gate. I'm thankful, since there are only two truck stops in the entire state of Connecticut (one of which charges for parking), and there's no overnight parking allowed at state-run rest stops along the interstates.
Effective Immediately: DOT Bans Commercial Truck, Bus Drivers From Texting Behind the Wheel
DOT Bans Commercial Truck, Bus Drivers from Texting Behind the Wheel Posted by Al Tompkins at 12:01 AM on Jan. 27, 2010 The U.S. Department of Transportation issued a sweeping rule on Tuesday that bans commercial truck and bus drivers nationwide from texting while driving. Nineteen states and the District of Columbia already ban all drivers from texting while operating a vehicle.
The DOT news release explained the rule, which took effect immediately:
" 'We want the drivers of big rigs and buses and those who share the roads with them to be safe,' said Secretary Ray LaHood. 'This is an important safety step and we will be taking more to eliminate the threat of distracted driving.'
"The action is the result of the Department’s interpretation of standing rules. Truck and bus drivers who text while driving commercial vehicles may be subject to civil or criminal penalties of up to $2,750.
" 'Our regulations will help prevent unsafe activity within the cab,' said Anne Ferro, Administrator for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). 'We want to make it crystal clear to operators and their employers that texting while driving is the type of unsafe activity that these regulations are intended to prohibit.' "
The Associated Press said:
"Truckers who text while driving are 23 times more likely to crash or get into a near-wreck than an undistracted driver, while car drivers face the greatest danger when dialing their cell phones, a transportation study found.
The DOT news release explained the rule, which took effect immediately:
" 'We want the drivers of big rigs and buses and those who share the roads with them to be safe,' said Secretary Ray LaHood. 'This is an important safety step and we will be taking more to eliminate the threat of distracted driving.'
"The action is the result of the Department’s interpretation of standing rules. Truck and bus drivers who text while driving commercial vehicles may be subject to civil or criminal penalties of up to $2,750.
" 'Our regulations will help prevent unsafe activity within the cab,' said Anne Ferro, Administrator for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). 'We want to make it crystal clear to operators and their employers that texting while driving is the type of unsafe activity that these regulations are intended to prohibit.' "
The Associated Press said:
"The prohibition doesn't apply to onboard devices that allow dispatchers to send text messages to truck drivers, but most of those devices have mechanisms that prevent their use while a truck is in motion, said Clayton Boyce, a spokesman for the American Trucking Association.
"The trucking industry supports limiting the use of electronic devices that distract drivers, Boyce said.
... "Research by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration shows that drivers who send and receive text messages take their eyes off the road for an average of 4.6 seconds out of every 6 seconds while texting, the department said. At 55 miles per hour, this means that the driver is traveling the length of a football field, including the end zones, without looking at the road, the department said."
Last year, CNN reported:"Truckers who text while driving are 23 times more likely to crash or get into a near-wreck than an undistracted driver, while car drivers face the greatest danger when dialing their cell phones, a transportation study found.
"The likelihood of a crash due to cell-phone use disproportionately affected truckers in comparison with car drivers, according to the study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute.
"When dialing, the chance of an accident for a truck driver is 5.9 times more likely versus 2.8 times more likely for a car driver, the study found. If a trucker reaches for an electronic device, the crash risk is 6.7 times as high, while the risk for a car driver is 1.4 times as high, it showed.
"Truckers only fared better while talking or listening on a cell phone, with the increased risk one time more likely compared with 1.3 times for a car driver.
"Researchers viewed video footage from cameras inside of vehicles to look at how drivers engaged with the road while using their cell phones, said Rich Hanowski, director of the transportation institute's Center for Truck and Bus Safety. The study was based on research from 2004 to 2007, he said."Stop the I-75 and Brent Spence Bridge Boondoggles!
The seemingly unstoppable reconstruction of I-75 and the Brent Spence Bridge will be the biggest boondoggle in local history. Why? The ROI numbers for this 15+ mile multi-billion project depend on increased use of automobiles and increased trucking. How, exactly, is this going to happen if casual driving and long-distance trucking are doomed by the inevitable exhaustion of their present fuel source? Easily extractable oil will be exhausted by the end of the useful life of the new Brent Spence Bridge, and likely much, much sooner. Nobody knows quite when because the Saudis and others refuse to allow an outside audit of their reserves, and there is more than anecdotal proof that the world's players are cooking their advertised figures.
If you think the I-75 project is expensive now, just wait for 2040~, when we're stuck maintaining a 10-lane half-empty monster while having to build major rail infrastructure for twice the cost to do it now.
High speed passenger trains, commuter trains, and streetcars use something called electricity, an invisible force that makes things go (yeah, it sounds like make-believe, but The Provost assures you that is is very real!). It is produced at what are called "power plants", which are fueled by things we've got a lot of within our borders. When you fuel your car, more often than not some of that money goes to Canada, Mexico, Venezuela, or the Middle East. If you ride an electrically powered train here in the US, it's fueled by coal, uranium, hydropower, or something else from within our own borders. Your money stays here. If you ride a diesel-fueled train (or a city bus) in the U.S., much less of your money is being transfered out of the country than if you drove a car.
This just in: Cincinnati is home to one of the world's finest railroad stations:
Union Terminal is the present-day stop of The Cardinal, Amtrak's primitive every-other-day service to Chicago and Washington, DC. Famously, these trains arrive and depart at 1:30am and 3:30am. Why is that? Because some congressman from West Virginia made The Cardinal happen, and he dictated that it must travel through his state during convenient daylight hours, never mind that the Cincinnati metro area has more people than the entire state of West Virginia.
COAST and their friends across the country bash Amtrak's unprofitability, but never, ever, acknowledge that much of its service outside the profitable Eastern Corridor is mandated in obscure legislation and doomed to unprofitability. These same clowns say yeah well um how come UPS makes all this money and the Post Office doesn't? Because UPS isn't mandated to serve every single address in the country. UPS doesn't have to drive 10 miles down a dirt road in Nebraska, every day, to one farm house to drop off junk mail. UPS doesn't have to drive 10 miles down a dirt road in Montana, every day, to check some Unibomber's remote mailbox.
[...]
The arguments in defense of huge highway expansion projects are weaker today than at any point in the Interstate Highway era. Let us count the ways -- two of the Big 3 car companies are owned by the government, the Federal Highway Trust Fund is being bailed out yearly by the general fund, Ohio is subsidizing its highway funding by $1 billion per year, gasoline is much more expensive per gallon than it was when studies for these projects began, and cheap gasoline is doomed no matter what. Oh, and we've had 100,000 troops hanging out in Iraq since 2003 to prevent their oil fields from falling into the hands of the Russians or Chinese.
The old stretches of Interstate 75 between the Ohio River and I-275 need to be rebuilt in order to replace 50+ year-old overpasses with new ones, widen emergency shoulders, and to increase the safety of its interchanges. However, increased capacity in the form of building new through lanes is an entirely foolish endeavor for the reasons listed above and because more lanes don't necessarily improve capacity.
A five-lane interstate simply does not carry 20% more cars than a four-lane one.
So why not scrap the I-75 project, send it back to the drawing board, and replace these foolish new lanes with a pair of railroad tracks running down the center median?
By reserving the center median for railroad tracks, connections to Union Terminal for intercity trains and The Riverfront Transit Center for commuter trains can be built as cheaply as possible:
Instead, we're on a path that will see all this crap rebuilt with no way for passenger trains or commuter trains to easily reach Union Terminal or the Riverfront Transit Center. Although the Transit Center can still be reached by commuter trains from Lawrenceburg, IN fairly easily, any approach to it or Union Terminal from the north will require a fourth mainline built next to the triple-track yard approach that parallels I-75 north from I-74:
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
"Trucking Load Theft"
This does happen. After getting out of the military I worked at many different jobs one was driving a truck. I drove a truck for a company for five years.
One such load I was ordered to pick up, was at a company drop yard in Laredo, TX. I was also cautioned as to this being a high valued load. (Computer parts) Well, after scrapping together the parts that had been stolen off the trailer.
On a high value load, my company had a policy to watch for any vehicles following you for the first 50 miles from the pickup city. The ones that were following me was not that smart. He was following me with a pickup truck that had a cattle guard on the front and blue lights.
It was a team because they switched vehicles. I know paranoid right. Well just because this same two vehicles followed me into a rest stop and, a Truck stop that I was in. Just after I called my company to call the law these two vehicles sped away right before the law showed up.
I told the Highway patrolmen that they sped away and he said that most of the load High Jackers have police scanners in their cars and, probably heard the call on their scanners.
.
Day 18 Post-Fast
Well, I feel like I got hit by a MAC truck. Ugh...I’m sore as hell. My muscles throb just getting off the pot! Isn’t that awful? Like I mentioned before, I ALWAYS overdo exercise!! It wasn’t my fault this time though! Haha. I did Cathe’s Body Fusion DVD, which happens to be about 45 minutes of up and down on the bench step coupled with a few torturous minutes of weight training. I’m paying for it today, that's for sure. I’ve stretched, but the pain remains. I think I’ll take tomorrow off from exercise and come Thursday, I’ll stick to her Basic Step DVD. Obviously I’ve lost more muscle endurance than previously suspected. I’ll keep on trucking though, and get back to where I was in no time (I hope). Click HERE for my entry dedicated to Cathe.
Now that I’ve gotten back into my blog, I feel more aware of what I’m eating again. I’m paying more attention to what food choices I make and feel the need to be more responsible. This morning I weighed 153, and I’m hoping to reduce that number to 150 before too long.
I’m going on holiday in about 7 weeks, where I’ll get to see my husband, his family and my friends and family after an 8 month separation. It will be so rewarding and self-esteem building to see their raised eyebrows and hear their praise for all my hard work. Of course the fasting and losing weight and learning to eat better was for my own health and happiness, but the compliments NEVER hurt! Hehe.
When I first left the company of friends and family, I was a whopping 195 lbs. Yes, I was a big girl. Changing jobs, doing more walking, eating slightly better, having a better attitude, and consciously avoiding sweets allowed me to drop from 195 to 175 in about 3 months. It took another 2 months to drop to 165 and then I started my fast.
Speaking of food...haha, was I speaking about food? HAHA. I recently purchased the Eat-Clean Diet book by Tosca Reno (it was on sale). It’s a pretty good read! A lot of the information is similar to You Are What You Eat by Jillian McKeith, but Jillian is slightly more strict and encourages what I call “unusual” and “not everyday foods” be encorporated into one’s diet (some of these things, I’ve never even heard of), like amaranth, kamut, millet, quinoa, spelt, teff (grains), aduki, mung, anasazi (beans), rocket, swiss chard, mache, sorrel (leafy green veggies), agar, arame, dulse, kombu, wakame (sea vegetables – seaweeds), chervil, fenugreek, umeboshi plums (herbs). The list goes on and on. Dispite these funky foods and her medical approach to eating, the book is well organized, fun to read, has great pictures, and I’ve learned so much from it. This book is probably my favorite to date. Click HERE for another entry discussing this book.
In the Eat-Clean Diet book, Tosca Reno emphasizes weight loss through multiple meals a day and restricting eating to, well, clean foods.
Those who eat clean aim to avoid unprocessed, unrefined, overcooked, sugary, non-organic (which I have yet to completely agree with – or afford), red meat (sometimes even cow’s milk), white floured, simple carbed, nutrient deficient, fiber and vitamin depleted, microwave-mealed foods. HAHA, these are all the goodies, aren’t they? But I’m prepared to start making a real change, to get myself and my family in good health and spirits. This is a great book too, and I highly recommend both of these to accompany your cookbook arsenal. I plan on purchasing Tosca's Eat-Clean Diet Cookbook as well.
Back to my vacation – which I’m thrilled about and never strays too far from the front of my mind; it begins on about March 25th and ends in the middle of April. My husband and I have so many ideas and plans scheduled for my time home – some of which we’re hoping will further my mission of health, happiness and weight loss. We want to see a nutritionist (to finally get me on the right meal plans) and a psychologist (to get off the Paxil safely and get my head fully in the game). I’m thrilled to get back on track and give my all to this experience, and I certainly don’t want to fall off the wagon when I’m on holiday.
One last note for the evening. Ahhh, the evening. This is the time when I truly start to go downhill. My hunger spikes around 6-9pm and is completely independent of how much I eat the rest of the day. Breakfast, coffee, water, exercise, they all seem to have no correlation with or affect on my insatiable evening appetite. The only thing that seems to help is hitting the sack at a decent time. Should I stay up to 11pm or later – forget it!!! I’m just starving. Bizarre, I know, but at least I’ve identified it and can really concentrate on getting to bed at an earlier time. I ate about 40% of all my calories after 5:30pm today!!! Unreal.
Well, have a wonderful day and try not to eat as much as I did! Haha. Until tomorrow…
Now that I’ve gotten back into my blog, I feel more aware of what I’m eating again. I’m paying more attention to what food choices I make and feel the need to be more responsible. This morning I weighed 153, and I’m hoping to reduce that number to 150 before too long.
I’m going on holiday in about 7 weeks, where I’ll get to see my husband, his family and my friends and family after an 8 month separation. It will be so rewarding and self-esteem building to see their raised eyebrows and hear their praise for all my hard work. Of course the fasting and losing weight and learning to eat better was for my own health and happiness, but the compliments NEVER hurt! Hehe.
When I first left the company of friends and family, I was a whopping 195 lbs. Yes, I was a big girl. Changing jobs, doing more walking, eating slightly better, having a better attitude, and consciously avoiding sweets allowed me to drop from 195 to 175 in about 3 months. It took another 2 months to drop to 165 and then I started my fast.
Speaking of food...haha, was I speaking about food? HAHA. I recently purchased the Eat-Clean Diet book by Tosca Reno (it was on sale). It’s a pretty good read! A lot of the information is similar to You Are What You Eat by Jillian McKeith, but Jillian is slightly more strict and encourages what I call “unusual” and “not everyday foods” be encorporated into one’s diet (some of these things, I’ve never even heard of), like amaranth, kamut, millet, quinoa, spelt, teff (grains), aduki, mung, anasazi (beans), rocket, swiss chard, mache, sorrel (leafy green veggies), agar, arame, dulse, kombu, wakame (sea vegetables – seaweeds), chervil, fenugreek, umeboshi plums (herbs). The list goes on and on. Dispite these funky foods and her medical approach to eating, the book is well organized, fun to read, has great pictures, and I’ve learned so much from it. This book is probably my favorite to date. Click HERE for another entry discussing this book.
In the Eat-Clean Diet book, Tosca Reno emphasizes weight loss through multiple meals a day and restricting eating to, well, clean foods.
Those who eat clean aim to avoid unprocessed, unrefined, overcooked, sugary, non-organic (which I have yet to completely agree with – or afford), red meat (sometimes even cow’s milk), white floured, simple carbed, nutrient deficient, fiber and vitamin depleted, microwave-mealed foods. HAHA, these are all the goodies, aren’t they? But I’m prepared to start making a real change, to get myself and my family in good health and spirits. This is a great book too, and I highly recommend both of these to accompany your cookbook arsenal. I plan on purchasing Tosca's Eat-Clean Diet Cookbook as well.
Back to my vacation – which I’m thrilled about and never strays too far from the front of my mind; it begins on about March 25th and ends in the middle of April. My husband and I have so many ideas and plans scheduled for my time home – some of which we’re hoping will further my mission of health, happiness and weight loss. We want to see a nutritionist (to finally get me on the right meal plans) and a psychologist (to get off the Paxil safely and get my head fully in the game). I’m thrilled to get back on track and give my all to this experience, and I certainly don’t want to fall off the wagon when I’m on holiday.
One last note for the evening. Ahhh, the evening. This is the time when I truly start to go downhill. My hunger spikes around 6-9pm and is completely independent of how much I eat the rest of the day. Breakfast, coffee, water, exercise, they all seem to have no correlation with or affect on my insatiable evening appetite. The only thing that seems to help is hitting the sack at a decent time. Should I stay up to 11pm or later – forget it!!! I’m just starving. Bizarre, I know, but at least I’ve identified it and can really concentrate on getting to bed at an earlier time. I ate about 40% of all my calories after 5:30pm today!!! Unreal.
Well, have a wonderful day and try not to eat as much as I did! Haha. Until tomorrow…
Truck Hits Tree, Catches on Fire
A Port Allegany man suffered minor injuries in an accident at just after 2 a.m. today on Route 6 in Liberty Township.
State police say 41-year-old Scott Moyer fell asleep at the wheel of his Mack truck, which left the road and hit a tree. The truck went back onto the road and caught on fire.
Police say Moyer got out of the vehicle before it caught on fire. He was taken by ambulance to Charles Cole Memorial Hospital in Coudersport for treatment of his injuries. Moyer will be cited for traffic violations.
Police were assisted at the scene by the Star Hose Company, PennDOT and Portville Trucking.
State police say 41-year-old Scott Moyer fell asleep at the wheel of his Mack truck, which left the road and hit a tree. The truck went back onto the road and caught on fire.
Police say Moyer got out of the vehicle before it caught on fire. He was taken by ambulance to Charles Cole Memorial Hospital in Coudersport for treatment of his injuries. Moyer will be cited for traffic violations.
Police were assisted at the scene by the Star Hose Company, PennDOT and Portville Trucking.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Diesel Fuel Substitute
In a recent article from the Financial Times, a few firms are converting methane that occurs in landfills to liquid bio-methane as a substitute for diesel fuel. The firms are trying to get large trucking firms to change from using diesel fuel to liquid bio-methane, which is priced less than diesel and generated locally to the trucking companies. The fuel is supposed to be better in terms of efficiency than diesel and costs less, so why is it not more popular?
The big problem will be for long haul trucking firms that do not have enough places to buy liquid bio-methane. The fuel infrastructure is set up for diesel. As more fueling stations have liquid bio-methane as an option, then long haul trucking firms will be more apt to switch from diesel to liquid bio-methane. So the issue is not that liquid bio-methane is not efficient or cost effective, but rather an issue of the amount of places that long haul trucks can go to fill up when their tanks are running low.
The big problem will be for long haul trucking firms that do not have enough places to buy liquid bio-methane. The fuel infrastructure is set up for diesel. As more fueling stations have liquid bio-methane as an option, then long haul trucking firms will be more apt to switch from diesel to liquid bio-methane. So the issue is not that liquid bio-methane is not efficient or cost effective, but rather an issue of the amount of places that long haul trucks can go to fill up when their tanks are running low.
2010 Worldwide Freight Trucking Long Distance Industry Report-Aarkstore Enterprise
The Freight Trucking Long Distance Industry report, published annually by Barnes Reports, contains timely and accurate industry statistics, forecasts and demographics. The report features 2010 current and 2011 forecast estimates on the size of the industry (sales, establishments, employment) for the 47 largest world countries, such as Japan, China, India, Russia, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, UK, France, Germany, Italy and U.S.. The report also includes industry definition, 5-year historical trends on industry sales, establishments and employment and estimates on up to 10 sub-industries, including contract haulers, mobile homes transport, household goods transport, and heavy haulers. For more information please visit:http://www.aarkstore.com/reports/2010-Worldwide-Freight-Trucking-Long-Distance-Industry-Report-37256.htmlPH.NO. 919272852585
BREAKING NEWS: ARROW Trucking Company Vanishes!
YRC And Arrow Struggle In Difficult Times www.handyshippingguide.com www.tulsaworld.com Arrow Trucking Customers Also Affected By Shutdown www.newson6.com CS www.csmonitor.com YRC Worldwide Extends Deadline For Debt Swap Offer online.wsj.com Kittenkattan www.youtube.com My Blog demcad.blogspot.com ... ARROW Trucking Company Vanishes YRC bankrupt Economic Survive Audited Treasuries Debt Collapse shortage inflation hyperinflation Flint Peter Schiff collapse Gerald Celente depression economy ...
02/01/2010 Nice way to start the month
Well I tried to make the backing in hard. It should have been an easy back in, but I tried every trick in the book to make it more difficult. Some days are just like that.
The unload crew was almost spry compared to their normal laid back pace. And the CRS (Maverick's term for dispatcher) was spot on today as well. 15 minutes after sending in my empty call I was on my way to ….. wait for it. Corsicanna, TX (yea I finally got one right). I made a phone call to verify that I could pick up the product on this trailer and it was decided that I could, but make sure to weigh the load. Ok no problem. This is usually a live load facility for the over the road drivers. The last time I was here it was preloaded but there wasn't much time on the load. There was plenty of time on this load so I figured it would be a live load for sure. Happily I report that it was in fact preloaded and the glass in question doesn't weigh as much as indicated in the load assignment as well. So no loading or weight problems and I only have 1100 miles to cover for a Thursday morning delivery. All that adds up to one happy truck driver.
Tomorrows preliminary destination is Jackson, MS. That's only 400 miles or so. Once I get there I will poll my lazy butt and see if more miles or in order. We will just have to wait and see.
A laid back Sunday drive through the country side. A win win kind of Monday. 2500 miles in on Thursday morning. Things are looking real good.
Have a nice day
Bookerz out
BREAKING NEWS: ARROW Trucking Company Vanishes!
YRC And Arrow Struggle In Difficult Times www.handyshippingguide.com www.tulsaworld.com Arrow Trucking Customers Also Affected By Shutdown www.newson6.com CS www.csmonitor.com YRC Worldwide Extends Deadline For Debt Swap Offer online.wsj.com Kittenkattan www.youtube.com My Blog demcad.blogspot.com ... ARROW Trucking Company Vanishes YRC bankrupt Economic Survive Audited Treasuries Debt Collapse shortage inflation hyperinflation Flint Peter Schiff collapse Gerald Celente depression economy ...
Diatribe, Part the Second
IT'S CALLED PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY KIDS! Remember that.WARNING!!!!! - If you are squeamish about blood, severe injuries or death, or semi-foul language - READ NO FURTHERLet's hop in the time machine (Not a Delorean) and wander back to 19 and 86. So one afternoon I am working at my shop (I owned my own welding / heavy truck mechanic business) when the tones drop. "Auto Pedestrian involving an 18 wheeler truck." I thought, "This won't be pretty." It was right down the road from my shop and my in district partner was a few miles away.At that time, Austin - Travis County had recently gotten StarFlight (Helicopter) and the standard for ALS calls in the county was to send a BLS ground unit and launch the helo. Volunteers or the BLS unit could cancel the helo if not needed. I knew the cavalry was coming in strength and just after I called in responding I heard County Partner call in responding as well as the Aide unit and StarFlight.As I approached the scene, I take in that it is a construction zone around a bridge being built into one of the new subdivisions. Frantically waving workers greet me. The situation as was pretty apparent after an initial survey and quick rundown from the foreman as I unloaded and slogged gear over to the patient. It was an 18-wheeler dump truck that was backing up when a worker walked behind it. The worker tripped and fell in the soft roadbed material and the driver did not see him go behind the trailer in the first place much less fall. Others saw what happened and got the drivers attention but not until our patient was under the trailer about midway. The truck had backed both sets of tandems on the fully loaded trailer over this guy's midsection. This really is not good. I gave dispatch and the others a quick update and went to work. The patient was conscious but going down hill fast. By the time the Aide unit was on scene he was ready to crash and we were able to get MAST pants on him to get his blood pressure back up enough to hold on until the Helo touched down.We got an LZ setup and the Helo on the ground quickly and advised a Hot Load as this guy was critical. We had the guy packaged on a backboard waiting for the helo when it touched down so the Flight Medic and Flight Nurse started their work as we were loading. He was going down fast again and the Flight Crew got IV's going and they pushed fluids as fast as possible to try and keep him viable. We backed off and launched the Helo knowing that his chances were really not all that good.As a side note, we could have made copies of the keys in his pocket and added up how much change he was carrying from the impressions in his leg if that gives you any idea what his body was exposed to.Partner and I talk for a bit about what just happened and then head back to our respective jobs. We fill out run sheets with our reports on them about what just happened and get those turned in. I called and talked to the Flight Medic to get an update, the patient died on the operating table. Massive internal injuries. Too massive to even begin to fix.Not a good way to end any call but we did our best and knew that we could not have done any more or better that would have had any effect on the outcome.NOW FOR THE FUN PART.........Not a week later, I get notice that I am being sued!! By a State Senator / scum sucking lawyer on behalf of the patients family in Mexico. Turns out the guy was here illegally and working for cash under the table. The lawyer scum was suing Me and County Partner, the BLS crew, the Flight Crew including the pilot, the ER Nurses and Doctors, the OR Nurses and Doctors all as individuals, as well as the City and County as Owner/Operator of the EMS system and Owner of the hospital. Also, the Driver of the truck, the owner of the truck and trucking company, the owner of the construction company, the foreman of the construction crew and the primary contractor for the road project as well as the subdivision developer.The attack on the EMS and Hospital crews was that we did not do enough to save his life and that we had dropped the level of care, as he was a Mexican and pretty much everyone that worked on him was white.Was anyone that was sued responsible for him walking behind a loaded dump truck that was backing up and him tripping? I won't even get into his status or presence on the job site, as that has nothing at all to do with the level of care he received or what he did to cause the injuries. I ended up having to take time out of my schedule, four times over the course of more than a year as this dragged on, to meet with city and county lawyers as well as to give a deposition. In addition to the stress of beng sued. I was being accused of not doing my best, by a well dressed two bit lawyer hack who had no medical training and was not anywhere near the scene as it happened, when I had not only done my best but done so at my own expense. EMT class and continuing education I had paid for and taken time to complete as well as purchasing some equipment to augment county issue. I took it personally as did a few of the others I spoke with about it.NO, the lawyer was just a greedy son of a bitch that was looking to see how much who would pay him to just go away. Which the City/County did after it was all said and done. They decided it would be cheaper to just pay the bastard off than to fight for what was right including the integrity and honor of the PEOPLE who worked their asses off to try and save this guy.IT'S CALLED PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY!This guy was responsible for his actions and everyone else was being blamed.Unfortunately it has just gotten worse in this litigious society where not only does everyone sue everyone else, but, everyone blames someone else for what happened. It cannot be the fault of the person who actually did the action. It has to be the car or it's manufacturer, the bartender, the gun or it's manufacturer, seller or distributor, the trampoline manufacturer, the road crew or whoever.People need to be responsible for their own actions and parents are responsible for their children until they are old enough to be held responsible for themselves. Parents NOT SCHOOLS OR THE GOVERNMENT are responsible for teaching their children that they are going to be held responsible for their actions and just what that means.IT'S CALLED PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY!About this time, I realized I had been working jobs not a career path and was ready to go back to school to finish my degree. Time to earn my keep. Personal responsibility and all.
2010 Worldwide Freight Trucking Long Distance Industry Report-Aarkstore Enterprise
The Freight Trucking Long Distance Industry report, published annually by Barnes Reports, contains timely and accurate industry statistics, forecasts and demographics. The report features 2010 current and 2011 forecast estimates on the size of the industry (sales, establishments, employment) for the 47 largest world countries, such as Japan, China, India, Russia, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, UK, France, Germany, Italy and U.S.. The report also includes industry definition, 5-year historical trends on industry sales, establishments and employment and estimates on up to 10 sub-industries, including contract haulers, mobile homes transport, household goods transport, and heavy haulers. For more information please visit:http://www.aarkstore.com/reports/2010-Worldwide-Freight-Trucking-Long-Distance-Industry-Report-37256.htmlPH.NO. 919272852585
2010 Worldwide Freight Trucking Long Distance Industry Report-Aarkstore Enterprise
The Freight Trucking Long Distance Industry report, published annually by Barnes Reports, contains timely and accurate industry statistics, forecasts and demographics. The report features 2010 current and 2011 forecast estimates on the size of the industry (sales, establishments, employment) for the 47 largest world countries, such as Japan, China, India, Russia, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, UK, France, Germany, Italy and U.S.. The report also includes industry definition, 5-year historical trends on industry sales, establishments and employment and estimates on up to 10 sub-industries, including contract haulers, mobile homes transport, household goods transport, and heavy haulers. For more information please visit:http://www.aarkstore.com/reports/2010-Worldwide-Freight-Trucking-Long-Distance-Industry-Report-37256.htmlPH.NO. 919272852585
2010 Worldwide Freight Trucking Long Distance Industry Report-Aarkstore Enterprise
The Freight Trucking Long Distance Industry report, published annually by Barnes Reports, contains timely and accurate industry statistics, forecasts and demographics. The report features 2010 current and 2011 forecast estimates on the size of the industry (sales, establishments, employment) for the 47 largest world countries, such as Japan, China, India, Russia, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, UK, France, Germany, Italy and U.S.. The report also includes industry definition, 5-year historical trends on industry sales, establishments and employment and estimates on up to 10 sub-industries, including contract haulers, mobile homes transport, household goods transport, and heavy haulers.
For more information please visit:http://www.aarkstore.com/reports/2010-Worldwide-Freight-Trucking-Long-Distance-Industry-Report-37256.html
PH.NO. 919272852585
For more information please visit:http://www.aarkstore.com/reports/2010-Worldwide-Freight-Trucking-Long-Distance-Industry-Report-37256.html
PH.NO. 919272852585
Diatribe, Part the Second
IT'S CALLED PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY KIDS! Remember that.
WARNING!!!!! - If you are squeamish about blood, severe injuries or death, or semi-foul language - READ NO FURTHER
Let's hop in the time machine (Not a Delorean) and wander back to 19 and 86. So one afternoon I am working at my shop (I owned my own welding / heavy truck mechanic business) when the tones drop. "Auto Pedestrian involving an 18 wheeler truck." I thought, "This won't be pretty." It was right down the road from my shop and my in district partner was a few miles away.
At that time, Austin - Travis County had recently gotten StarFlight (Helicopter) and the standard for ALS calls in the county was to send a BLS ground unit and launch the helo. Volunteers or the BLS unit could cancel the helo if not needed. I knew the cavalry was coming in strength and just after I called in responding I heard County Partner call in responding as well as the Aide unit and StarFlight.
As I approached the scene, I take in that it is a construction zone around a bridge being built into one of the new subdivisions. Frantically waving workers greet me. The situation as was pretty apparent after an initial survey and quick rundown from the foreman as I unloaded and slogged gear over to the patient. It was an 18-wheeler dump truck that was backing up when a worker walked behind it. The worker tripped and fell in the soft roadbed material and the driver did not see him go behind the trailer in the first place much less fall. Others saw what happened and got the drivers attention but not until our patient was under the trailer about midway. The truck had backed both sets of tandems on the fully loaded trailer over this guy's midsection. This really is not good. I gave dispatch and the others a quick update and went to work. The patient was conscious but going down hill fast. By the time the Aide unit was on scene he was ready to crash and we were able to get MAST pants on him to get his blood pressure back up enough to hold on until the Helo touched down.
We got an LZ setup and the Helo on the ground quickly and advised a Hot Load as this guy was critical. We had the guy packaged on a backboard waiting for the helo when it touched down so the Flight Medic and Flight Nurse started their work as we were loading. He was going down fast again and the Flight Crew got IV's going and they pushed fluids as fast as possible to try and keep him viable. We backed off and launched the Helo knowing that his chances were really not all that good.
As a side note, we could have made copies of the keys in his pocket and added up how much change he was carrying from the impressions in his leg if that gives you any idea what his body was exposed to.
Partner and I talk for a bit about what just happened and then head back to our respective jobs. We fill out run sheets with our reports on them about what just happened and get those turned in. I called and talked to the Flight Medic to get an update, the patient died on the operating table. Massive internal injuries. Too massive to even begin to fix.
Not a good way to end any call but we did our best and knew that we could not have done any more or better that would have had any effect on the outcome.
NOW FOR THE FUN PART.........
Not a week later, I get notice that I am being sued!! By a State Senator / scum sucking lawyer on behalf of the patients family in Mexico. Turns out the guy was here illegally and working for cash under the table. The lawyer scum was suing Me and County Partner, the BLS crew, the Flight Crew including the pilot, the ER Nurses and Doctors, the OR Nurses and Doctors all as individuals, as well as the City and County as Owner/Operator of the EMS system and Owner of the hospital. Also, the Driver of the truck, the owner of the truck and trucking company, the owner of the construction company, the foreman of the construction crew and the primary contractor for the road project as well as the subdivision developer.
The attack on the EMS and Hospital crews was that we did not do enough to save his life and that we had dropped the level of care, as he was a Mexican and pretty much everyone that worked on him was white.
Was anyone that was sued responsible for him walking behind a loaded dump truck that was backing up and him tripping? I won't even get into his status or presence on the job site, as that has nothing at all to do with the level of care he received or what he did to cause the injuries. I ended up having to take time out of my schedule, four times over the course of more than a year as this dragged on, to meet with city and county lawyers as well as to give a deposition. In addition to the stress of beng sued. I was being accused of not doing my best, by a well dressed two bit lawyer hack who had no medical training and was not anywhere near the scene as it happened, when I had not only done my best but done so at my own expense. EMT class and continuing education I had paid for and taken time to complete as well as purchasing some equipment to augment county issue. I took it personally as did a few of the others I spoke with about it.
NO, the lawyer was just a greedy son of a bitch that was looking to see how much who would pay him to just go away. Which the City/County did after it was all said and done. They decided it would be cheaper to just pay the bastard off than to fight for what was right including the integrity and honor of the PEOPLE who worked their asses off to try and save this guy.
IT'S CALLED PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY!
This guy was responsible for his actions and everyone else was being blamed.
Unfortunately it has just gotten worse in this litigious society where not only does everyone sue everyone else, but, everyone blames someone else for what happened. It cannot be the fault of the person who actually did the action. It has to be the car or it's manufacturer, the bartender, the gun or it's manufacturer, seller or distributor, the trampoline manufacturer, the road crew or whoever.
People need to be responsible for their own actions and parents are responsible for their children until they are old enough to be held responsible for themselves. Parents NOT SCHOOLS OR THE GOVERNMENT are responsible for teaching their children that they are going to be held responsible for their actions and just what that means.
IT'S CALLED PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY!
About this time, I realized I had been working jobs not a career path and was ready to go back to school to finish my degree. Time to earn my keep. Personal responsibility and all.
WARNING!!!!! - If you are squeamish about blood, severe injuries or death, or semi-foul language - READ NO FURTHER
Let's hop in the time machine (Not a Delorean) and wander back to 19 and 86. So one afternoon I am working at my shop (I owned my own welding / heavy truck mechanic business) when the tones drop. "Auto Pedestrian involving an 18 wheeler truck." I thought, "This won't be pretty." It was right down the road from my shop and my in district partner was a few miles away.
At that time, Austin - Travis County had recently gotten StarFlight (Helicopter) and the standard for ALS calls in the county was to send a BLS ground unit and launch the helo. Volunteers or the BLS unit could cancel the helo if not needed. I knew the cavalry was coming in strength and just after I called in responding I heard County Partner call in responding as well as the Aide unit and StarFlight.
As I approached the scene, I take in that it is a construction zone around a bridge being built into one of the new subdivisions. Frantically waving workers greet me. The situation as was pretty apparent after an initial survey and quick rundown from the foreman as I unloaded and slogged gear over to the patient. It was an 18-wheeler dump truck that was backing up when a worker walked behind it. The worker tripped and fell in the soft roadbed material and the driver did not see him go behind the trailer in the first place much less fall. Others saw what happened and got the drivers attention but not until our patient was under the trailer about midway. The truck had backed both sets of tandems on the fully loaded trailer over this guy's midsection. This really is not good. I gave dispatch and the others a quick update and went to work. The patient was conscious but going down hill fast. By the time the Aide unit was on scene he was ready to crash and we were able to get MAST pants on him to get his blood pressure back up enough to hold on until the Helo touched down.
We got an LZ setup and the Helo on the ground quickly and advised a Hot Load as this guy was critical. We had the guy packaged on a backboard waiting for the helo when it touched down so the Flight Medic and Flight Nurse started their work as we were loading. He was going down fast again and the Flight Crew got IV's going and they pushed fluids as fast as possible to try and keep him viable. We backed off and launched the Helo knowing that his chances were really not all that good.
As a side note, we could have made copies of the keys in his pocket and added up how much change he was carrying from the impressions in his leg if that gives you any idea what his body was exposed to.
Partner and I talk for a bit about what just happened and then head back to our respective jobs. We fill out run sheets with our reports on them about what just happened and get those turned in. I called and talked to the Flight Medic to get an update, the patient died on the operating table. Massive internal injuries. Too massive to even begin to fix.
Not a good way to end any call but we did our best and knew that we could not have done any more or better that would have had any effect on the outcome.
NOW FOR THE FUN PART.........
Not a week later, I get notice that I am being sued!! By a State Senator / scum sucking lawyer on behalf of the patients family in Mexico. Turns out the guy was here illegally and working for cash under the table. The lawyer scum was suing Me and County Partner, the BLS crew, the Flight Crew including the pilot, the ER Nurses and Doctors, the OR Nurses and Doctors all as individuals, as well as the City and County as Owner/Operator of the EMS system and Owner of the hospital. Also, the Driver of the truck, the owner of the truck and trucking company, the owner of the construction company, the foreman of the construction crew and the primary contractor for the road project as well as the subdivision developer.
The attack on the EMS and Hospital crews was that we did not do enough to save his life and that we had dropped the level of care, as he was a Mexican and pretty much everyone that worked on him was white.
Was anyone that was sued responsible for him walking behind a loaded dump truck that was backing up and him tripping? I won't even get into his status or presence on the job site, as that has nothing at all to do with the level of care he received or what he did to cause the injuries. I ended up having to take time out of my schedule, four times over the course of more than a year as this dragged on, to meet with city and county lawyers as well as to give a deposition. In addition to the stress of beng sued. I was being accused of not doing my best, by a well dressed two bit lawyer hack who had no medical training and was not anywhere near the scene as it happened, when I had not only done my best but done so at my own expense. EMT class and continuing education I had paid for and taken time to complete as well as purchasing some equipment to augment county issue. I took it personally as did a few of the others I spoke with about it.
NO, the lawyer was just a greedy son of a bitch that was looking to see how much who would pay him to just go away. Which the City/County did after it was all said and done. They decided it would be cheaper to just pay the bastard off than to fight for what was right including the integrity and honor of the PEOPLE who worked their asses off to try and save this guy.
IT'S CALLED PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY!
This guy was responsible for his actions and everyone else was being blamed.
Unfortunately it has just gotten worse in this litigious society where not only does everyone sue everyone else, but, everyone blames someone else for what happened. It cannot be the fault of the person who actually did the action. It has to be the car or it's manufacturer, the bartender, the gun or it's manufacturer, seller or distributor, the trampoline manufacturer, the road crew or whoever.
People need to be responsible for their own actions and parents are responsible for their children until they are old enough to be held responsible for themselves. Parents NOT SCHOOLS OR THE GOVERNMENT are responsible for teaching their children that they are going to be held responsible for their actions and just what that means.
IT'S CALLED PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY!
About this time, I realized I had been working jobs not a career path and was ready to go back to school to finish my degree. Time to earn my keep. Personal responsibility and all.
Monday, February 1, 2010
2010 Worldwide Freight Trucking Long Distance Industry Report-Aarkstore Enterprise
The Freight Trucking Long Distance Industry report, published annually by Barnes Reports, contains timely and accurate industry statistics, forecasts and demographics. The report features 2010 current and 2011 forecast estimates on the size of the industry (sales, establishments, employment) for the 47 largest world countries, such as Japan, China, India, Russia, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, UK, France, Germany, Italy and U.S.. The report also includes industry definition, 5-year historical trends on industry sales, establishments and employment and estimates on up to 10 sub-industries, including contract haulers, mobile homes transport, household goods transport, and heavy haulers.
For more information please visit:http://www.aarkstore.com/reports/2010-Worldwide-Freight-Trucking-Long-Distance-Industry-Report-37256.html
PH.NO. 919272852585
For more information please visit:http://www.aarkstore.com/reports/2010-Worldwide-Freight-Trucking-Long-Distance-Industry-Report-37256.html
PH.NO. 919272852585
BREAKING NEWS: ARROW Trucking Company Vanishes!
YRC And Arrow Struggle In Difficult Times www.handyshippingguide.com www.tulsaworld.com Arrow Trucking Customers Also Affected By Shutdown www.newson6.com CS www.csmonitor.com YRC Worldwide Extends Deadline For Debt Swap Offer online.wsj.com Kittenkattan www.youtube.com My Blog demcad.blogspot.com ... ARROW Trucking Company Vanishes YRC bankrupt Economic Survive Audited Treasuries Debt Collapse shortage inflation hyperinflation Flint Peter Schiff collapse Gerald Celente depression economy ...
Tight Delivery Schedule
Departed St. Mary, Missouri last night at 8:00 PM CST to drop our load of Charmin bath tissue from Procter & Gamble in Green Bay at a P&G DC in Neelys Landing, Missouri at 9:00 PM. Pulled a load of Luvs disposable diapers from this P&G DC for unload at a Family Dollar DC near Morehead, Kentucky this evening at 5:00 PM EST. After driving all night, we stopped for fuel - then shut down - in Mount Sterling, Kentucky. By the time my mandatory 10-hour DOT break is complete, we'll have just 10 minutes to spare for on-time delivery at Family Dollar twenty miles east. Thank God we encountered clean, dry roads and light traffic - as well as equipment in working order - otherwise we wouldn't have had a chance to be on time with this load.
BREAKING NEWS: ARROW Trucking Company Vanishes!
YRC And Arrow Struggle In Difficult Times www.handyshippingguide.com www.tulsaworld.com Arrow Trucking Customers Also Affected By Shutdown www.newson6.com CS www.csmonitor.com YRC Worldwide Extends Deadline For Debt Swap Offer online.wsj.com Kittenkattan www.youtube.com My Blog demcad.blogspot.com ... ARROW Trucking Company Vanishes YRC bankrupt Economic Survive Audited Treasuries Debt Collapse shortage inflation hyperinflation Flint Peter Schiff collapse Gerald Celente depression economy ...
This is the year for auto transport carriers to begin to succeed again…
For Immediate Release:
Seattle, WA CarrierRates.com – The dust has not settled from the explosion that we all encountered in recent years. It’s time to concentrate on our individual profit margins. Discovering new means to accomplish this is at hand.
This is a great time for carriers because each one of you has a new place to start! It’s incredibly exciting when you have a whole new way of doing business THAT HAS JUST RECENTLY BECOME A TEAM DRIVEN PRODUCT! Electronics and technology came at an enormous expense to the automotive industry to improve the way we do business. The time has come where two forward thinking automotive industry visionaries team up to merge their respective technology to increase dealers and auto transport carriers’ profit margins. It has come at us like the Starship Enterprise!
As one of my former technology employees mentioned, “the automotive industry is extremely slow-moving in embracing innovation.” In this new wave of doing business it is absolutely imperative for dealers and carriers to accept this marvelous progress. The infrastructure has been put in place through USBuyBid and CarrierRates and is READILY AVAILABLE!
USBuyBid is a new company, poised to revolutionize the auto wholesaling industry and was created with dealers in mind. Using USBuyBid licensed dealers and wholesalers here in the U.S. will benefit enormously with these systems. Dealers disposing of excess inventory or increasing their used vehicle inventory, now have a nationwide network of dealerships and wholesalers at their fingertips, helping them maximize their bottom-line.
CarrierRates teamed up with USBuyBid to provide the technology system for dealers and auto transport carriers to conduct professional auto transport logistics through the Internet.
Through this new automotive industry match, dealers will be able, through USBuyBid, to dramatically reduce the amount of cost incurred via auto auctions in disposing of or increasing their inventory. Auto transport carriers will be able to dramatically reduce their labor costs, while at the same time procuring new business.
By embracing the technology at hand with these two outstanding grassroots companies, you will save thousands of dollars each year, move your business forward faster than ever before, and have the competitive edge over those carriers that don’t embrace this new technology. Welcome to the year 2010!
Registered CarrierRates Auto transport carriers are to go to http://www.carrierrates.com/login.asp and update your company profile, fleet information and check to make sure your Certificate of Insurance on file is current.
Un-registered auto transport carriers and encouraged to go to www.carrierrates.com/carrierreg.asp and register today!
We here at CarrierRates.com hope you all have a meaningful & successful week.
Seattle, WA CarrierRates.com – The dust has not settled from the explosion that we all encountered in recent years. It’s time to concentrate on our individual profit margins. Discovering new means to accomplish this is at hand.
This is a great time for carriers because each one of you has a new place to start! It’s incredibly exciting when you have a whole new way of doing business THAT HAS JUST RECENTLY BECOME A TEAM DRIVEN PRODUCT! Electronics and technology came at an enormous expense to the automotive industry to improve the way we do business. The time has come where two forward thinking automotive industry visionaries team up to merge their respective technology to increase dealers and auto transport carriers’ profit margins. It has come at us like the Starship Enterprise!
As one of my former technology employees mentioned, “the automotive industry is extremely slow-moving in embracing innovation.” In this new wave of doing business it is absolutely imperative for dealers and carriers to accept this marvelous progress. The infrastructure has been put in place through USBuyBid and CarrierRates and is READILY AVAILABLE!
USBuyBid is a new company, poised to revolutionize the auto wholesaling industry and was created with dealers in mind. Using USBuyBid licensed dealers and wholesalers here in the U.S. will benefit enormously with these systems. Dealers disposing of excess inventory or increasing their used vehicle inventory, now have a nationwide network of dealerships and wholesalers at their fingertips, helping them maximize their bottom-line.
CarrierRates teamed up with USBuyBid to provide the technology system for dealers and auto transport carriers to conduct professional auto transport logistics through the Internet.
Through this new automotive industry match, dealers will be able, through USBuyBid, to dramatically reduce the amount of cost incurred via auto auctions in disposing of or increasing their inventory. Auto transport carriers will be able to dramatically reduce their labor costs, while at the same time procuring new business.
By embracing the technology at hand with these two outstanding grassroots companies, you will save thousands of dollars each year, move your business forward faster than ever before, and have the competitive edge over those carriers that don’t embrace this new technology. Welcome to the year 2010!
Registered CarrierRates Auto transport carriers are to go to http://www.carrierrates.com/login.asp and update your company profile, fleet information and check to make sure your Certificate of Insurance on file is current.
Un-registered auto transport carriers and encouraged to go to www.carrierrates.com/carrierreg.asp and register today!
We here at CarrierRates.com hope you all have a meaningful & successful week.
This not sleeping well stuff is the pits...
I did go to sleep around 9:30, watched Star Trek dvd's until I was nodding off and had hoped I would sleep at least 4 hours. I took Tylonal and was comfortable--or as comfortable as I seem to get but was awake well before midnight.. foot itches and burns more than hurts, nerves tingle and 'crawl' and that isn't something like Tylonal 'fixes'. I think Bayer Back and Body helps some, know it's part of the healing, know I have to get through it and will.
My body hurts some from being in bed laying on my back or propped up that way, can't be on my side long, this stupid damaged foot won't tolerate that..great, my life seems to be under the control of my right foot...
Mike didn't call as he didn't want to wake me, I wasn't on line so he hoped I was asleep and just e-mailed me, he will load out of Albequerque some time tomorrow, not sure what direction he will be going, he will let me know. So far his brother Steve is winning the 'loose 20 pounds' contest they have going..we all do a lot of posting on Facebook, fun way to keep in touch for those of us that like the net.
Sister Lucy is having ups and downs, in the process of divorce, health issues and the man is elsewhere for work..not exactly sure which man this is...not the one she was so in love with a month ago..
But I have sure done my share of changing men in my life...and am not living her life...would not trade ever...
I will get through this accident and it's complications, will be sewing doll fashions and taking care of my garden, will be working my supply clerk job and paying my bills. In time Mike will relocate his trucking here and be based out of central IL instead of the southwest corner of Utah, and we will still talk a lot...I might not be able to go run jump into his arms, but his arms will still be there for me..this accident will slow me down in some ways but it will not stop me from living and enjoying my life.
I did take some Bayer Back and Body, am snacking on some crackers so hope to soon be back asleep for a couple more hours, eye appointment to replace my lost and probably badly broken glasses, will be nice to quit wearing safety glasses but at least I have them.
Maybe I can go to Albequerque for a few days after my first surgery, Nora and Mike's mom would love to have me, he might come get me for a few days, I sent a list of the yarn shops there..a change from my walls here. I can take the train from Galesburg right to Albequerque and the train is handicapped friendly. The cost isn't too bad either, about $200 round trip..we will split the costs probably.
Right now he can't afford to take off a week and fly out here, and with the accident I would not be skipping work. It will all depend on my medical team, I have not asked yet but Nancy thinks they won't allow it. My thinking is that is is very possible if I am ok after surgery and I set up dr. appointments so I don't miss any. I am not talking about a couple weeks, just a week or so, and I will be well cared for.
Well, ate my crackers, have my tea almost gone, guess I look this over and post it and hope the foot lets me get a bit more of that sleep stuff..
My body hurts some from being in bed laying on my back or propped up that way, can't be on my side long, this stupid damaged foot won't tolerate that..great, my life seems to be under the control of my right foot...
Mike didn't call as he didn't want to wake me, I wasn't on line so he hoped I was asleep and just e-mailed me, he will load out of Albequerque some time tomorrow, not sure what direction he will be going, he will let me know. So far his brother Steve is winning the 'loose 20 pounds' contest they have going..we all do a lot of posting on Facebook, fun way to keep in touch for those of us that like the net.
Sister Lucy is having ups and downs, in the process of divorce, health issues and the man is elsewhere for work..not exactly sure which man this is...not the one she was so in love with a month ago..
But I have sure done my share of changing men in my life...and am not living her life...would not trade ever...
I will get through this accident and it's complications, will be sewing doll fashions and taking care of my garden, will be working my supply clerk job and paying my bills. In time Mike will relocate his trucking here and be based out of central IL instead of the southwest corner of Utah, and we will still talk a lot...I might not be able to go run jump into his arms, but his arms will still be there for me..this accident will slow me down in some ways but it will not stop me from living and enjoying my life.
I did take some Bayer Back and Body, am snacking on some crackers so hope to soon be back asleep for a couple more hours, eye appointment to replace my lost and probably badly broken glasses, will be nice to quit wearing safety glasses but at least I have them.
Maybe I can go to Albequerque for a few days after my first surgery, Nora and Mike's mom would love to have me, he might come get me for a few days, I sent a list of the yarn shops there..a change from my walls here. I can take the train from Galesburg right to Albequerque and the train is handicapped friendly. The cost isn't too bad either, about $200 round trip..we will split the costs probably.
Right now he can't afford to take off a week and fly out here, and with the accident I would not be skipping work. It will all depend on my medical team, I have not asked yet but Nancy thinks they won't allow it. My thinking is that is is very possible if I am ok after surgery and I set up dr. appointments so I don't miss any. I am not talking about a couple weeks, just a week or so, and I will be well cared for.
Well, ate my crackers, have my tea almost gone, guess I look this over and post it and hope the foot lets me get a bit more of that sleep stuff..
Trucking
From a new series of photos from Afghanistan at the Boston Globe’s excellent The Big Picture. The caption reads: A British soldier stands in front of an Afghan vehicle, known as a “jingle truck”, as he provides security outside Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, Jan. 2, 2010. The soldier is assigned to B Flight, 27 Squadron, Royal Air Force Regiment, which is serving with NATO and U.S. forces in Afghanistan. (Tech. Sgt. Efren Lopez/U.S. Air Force) I showed this to my truckie mate Dean, just as a suggestion for a possible redesign for 2010. I can’t repeat his exact words, but essentially he’s going to stick with the more conservative look.
I think he meant this was just a bit gay.
More trucking flamboyance here.
Monitor: Mick Hartley
I think he meant this was just a bit gay.
More trucking flamboyance here.
Monitor: Mick Hartley
BREAKING NEWS: ARROW Trucking Company Vanishes!
YRC And Arrow Struggle In Difficult Times www.handyshippingguide.com www.tulsaworld.com Arrow Trucking Customers Also Affected By Shutdown www.newson6.com CS www.csmonitor.com YRC Worldwide Extends Deadline For Debt Swap Offer online.wsj.com Kittenkattan www.youtube.com My Blog demcad.blogspot.com ... ARROW Trucking Company Vanishes YRC bankrupt Economic Survive Audited Treasuries Debt Collapse shortage inflation hyperinflation Flint Peter Schiff collapse Gerald Celente depression economy ...
Sunday, January 31, 2010
BREAKING NEWS: ARROW Trucking Company Vanishes!
YRC And Arrow Struggle In Difficult Times www.handyshippingguide.com www.tulsaworld.com Arrow Trucking Customers Also Affected By Shutdown www.newson6.com CS www.csmonitor.com YRC Worldwide Extends Deadline For Debt Swap Offer online.wsj.com Kittenkattan www.youtube.com My Blog demcad.blogspot.com ... ARROW Trucking Company Vanishes YRC bankrupt Economic Survive Audited Treasuries Debt Collapse shortage inflation hyperinflation Flint Peter Schiff collapse Gerald Celente depression economy ...
Trucking - The Nature Of The Industry Part 2
In my job, I work only Fridays to Monday. I work ON CALL during my time away from the office by carrying my work's Crackberry Phone. Calls are unpredictable.
I received a call from a driver in distress. He had arrived at a Grocery Store Distribution Centre. He was going to be late and was about 3 hours late. He had driven nearly 3000 KM to get to this location.
The appt time of the delivery was scheduled by the Grocery Store Distribution. Though the run wasn't illegal in timing. It didn't allow the driver to casually drive and stop to see the sites. The driver used every legal waking hour to drive.
Without any delays... he would be on time. However... coming nearly the full way across the Northern United States hitting the nasty weather last week, he was delayed due to weather. On top of that... he was delayed at the USA Border. The Grocery Store Distribution Centre didn't provide the right paperwork for this driver. The driver lost 5 hours of driving time waiting for all of this mess to clear up.
The driver loosing that much time would cause him to really keep on track. The driver knew he would be late, so calls were made to the Distribution Centre and they said not a problem. It's typical for Grocery Distributions to Load and offload in the evenings. The message of him being late didn't get passed on down the line.
In the end, 4 days of non stop driving. The Grocery Distribution Centre refuses to offload the driver because he is 3 hours late. They are pretty damn lucky he was only 3 hours considering all the driver had endured. Including wasting 5 hours at the border which was the fault of the Grocery Store Distribution Centre.
It's now 2:30am on a Saturday Morning. I have a very upset driver on the phone. I speak to the company and they will not budge on their rules considering all the driver went through. It's not like they were closed... RULES ARE RULES! I asked who I could speak to about over turning this rule for this driver considering the circumstances... I have to speak to HEAD OFFICE, oh by the way, they are only open between 9 - 5 pm weekdays.
My driver turned away at a place that ordered him to be there. For product that they required in the first place. Without consideration of traffic, weather, issues along the way. The company is so freak'n arrogant to do this.
The driver was sent to a nearby truck stop... and now has to wait 3 days in the parking lot there before this company will entertain offloading him.
I tell you this... because this is one of the main reasons why I got out of driving a truck. Absolute arrogance on behalf of the companies who hire trucking companies to move their stuff. This driver now must sit and run a truck for 3 days to keep warm. He must deal with the prostitutes that bang onto truck doors in the middle of the night.
There's one major store that is north American Wide that I refuse to support. Just because their shipping is so arrogant. You can have multiples of this one store in major cities. One store is set up for midnight receiving while the other is set up for day only. So you think you can blaze through the city to deliver all of the stores, but its impossible.... Because of the hours set up and then you have to make an appt for what they have available. You are virtually powerless!
So now while this guy on the dock said no... He went home to a nice warm house with his family... my driver is sitting in a parking lot for 3 days. Away from home, in a strange neck of the woods and no options to leave the truck due to breakins that happen in parking lots, especially when loaded.
I love trucking, I love transportation, but I sure wish some of these big companies who control us would be held accountable for a situation like this....
Next time you are in a grocery store or whatever... think about how that product came to be... and don't think for a minute that everyone that ever touched that box along its route was treated fairly.
I received a call from a driver in distress. He had arrived at a Grocery Store Distribution Centre. He was going to be late and was about 3 hours late. He had driven nearly 3000 KM to get to this location.
The appt time of the delivery was scheduled by the Grocery Store Distribution. Though the run wasn't illegal in timing. It didn't allow the driver to casually drive and stop to see the sites. The driver used every legal waking hour to drive.
Without any delays... he would be on time. However... coming nearly the full way across the Northern United States hitting the nasty weather last week, he was delayed due to weather. On top of that... he was delayed at the USA Border. The Grocery Store Distribution Centre didn't provide the right paperwork for this driver. The driver lost 5 hours of driving time waiting for all of this mess to clear up.
The driver loosing that much time would cause him to really keep on track. The driver knew he would be late, so calls were made to the Distribution Centre and they said not a problem. It's typical for Grocery Distributions to Load and offload in the evenings. The message of him being late didn't get passed on down the line.
In the end, 4 days of non stop driving. The Grocery Distribution Centre refuses to offload the driver because he is 3 hours late. They are pretty damn lucky he was only 3 hours considering all the driver had endured. Including wasting 5 hours at the border which was the fault of the Grocery Store Distribution Centre.
It's now 2:30am on a Saturday Morning. I have a very upset driver on the phone. I speak to the company and they will not budge on their rules considering all the driver went through. It's not like they were closed... RULES ARE RULES! I asked who I could speak to about over turning this rule for this driver considering the circumstances... I have to speak to HEAD OFFICE, oh by the way, they are only open between 9 - 5 pm weekdays.
My driver turned away at a place that ordered him to be there. For product that they required in the first place. Without consideration of traffic, weather, issues along the way. The company is so freak'n arrogant to do this.
The driver was sent to a nearby truck stop... and now has to wait 3 days in the parking lot there before this company will entertain offloading him.
I tell you this... because this is one of the main reasons why I got out of driving a truck. Absolute arrogance on behalf of the companies who hire trucking companies to move their stuff. This driver now must sit and run a truck for 3 days to keep warm. He must deal with the prostitutes that bang onto truck doors in the middle of the night.
There's one major store that is north American Wide that I refuse to support. Just because their shipping is so arrogant. You can have multiples of this one store in major cities. One store is set up for midnight receiving while the other is set up for day only. So you think you can blaze through the city to deliver all of the stores, but its impossible.... Because of the hours set up and then you have to make an appt for what they have available. You are virtually powerless!
So now while this guy on the dock said no... He went home to a nice warm house with his family... my driver is sitting in a parking lot for 3 days. Away from home, in a strange neck of the woods and no options to leave the truck due to breakins that happen in parking lots, especially when loaded.
I love trucking, I love transportation, but I sure wish some of these big companies who control us would be held accountable for a situation like this....
Next time you are in a grocery store or whatever... think about how that product came to be... and don't think for a minute that everyone that ever touched that box along its route was treated fairly.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)