Zoom Trans

Switching from Recycled to Finished Product

2010-03-31T01:10:00.007-07:00

Departed the Clopay Plastic Products parking lot - on the southeast side of Nashville, Tennessee - at 1:00 AM CDT with a load of recycled film and plastic that will eventually be reprocessed into Procter & Gamble product containers. Dropped this load at Plastic Recycling Technology in Piqua, Ohio (photo above) at 9:32 AM EDT.

Deadheaded to the eastern edge of Lima, Ohio to drop our empty trailer at a huge Procter & Gamble distribution center we've been to many times before. Our outbound load of finished P&G product won't be ready until tonight, so we drove a mile away to the SNI/P&G trailer drop yard (photo below) next to P&G's production plant. I was granted permission to park here on break, until our load is ready and we roll again at 10:00 PM tonight. As you can see by the pictures, it's a beautiful, sun-filled day. Temperatures in the Midwest are cool at night and early morning, then warmer during the day. It's a great time of year for temperate weather.

FIRMS WORRIED ABOUT HEALTH CARE CHANGES

2010-03-31T01:10:00.005-07:00

Yesterday, we brought you a recap of our recent interview with Mike Stock, president and CEO of QualChoice, one of Arkansas’ largest health insurance providers.

A topic of our discussion centered on how the business community is assessing the changes forthcoming in the new health care legislation.

Stock says many questions remain unanswered at this point and businesses are adopting a wait-and-see attitude. However, some firms – such as AT&T, John Deere & Co. and Caterpillar – have already accounted for tax credits they expect to lose related to prescription drug coverage.

From our content partner, The City Wire, Michael Tilley talks with a number of local big businesses in the Fort Smith/Van Buren region. Most expect a negative economic impact, but to what extent they’re unsure.

Cliff Beckham, president and CEO of Van Buren-based USA Truck Inc., said the trucking and logistics company does not extend benefits to retirees and will avoid some of the extra costs on that front. Beckham said the company is in the midst of reviewing what the new law will mean for the trucking company that has financially struggled to survive a national freight recession that began in October 2006.

“There is little doubt in my mind that it will raise costs, but we are not familiar enough with the details yet to speculate as to how and how much,” Beckham said in an e-mail interview.

Officials at Fort Smith-based Baldor Electric Co. also have not determined the financial impact of the new bill, although they anticipate it will add costs for the company.

“We do know, however, that the legislation which passed last week will have a negative effect on our overall health care costs. Health care costs for our company and our employees will increase next year as a result of the new provisions required by the law,” said Tracy Long, Baldor’s vice president-investor relations.

You can read more at this link.

WHEN THINGS GO "NOT" ACCORDING TO PLAN

2010-03-31T01:10:00.003-07:00

Sometimes, no matter how much preparation you put in, things will still be screwed. Such was the case yesterday with Craig's deliveries. Oh sure, the first one went like clock work, but it was just tempting the trucking Gods too much to hope that the next two drops would go as smoothly.

As was expected, the receiver in Livermore still had the issue of the tight quarters in the dock area, but to add insult to injury, they took well over 3 hours to unload 3 pallets of meat. Then once he got to the receiver in San Francisco, about 30 minutes ahead of his appointment time, they informed him that his appointment was actually 5pm, not 4pm, and that he would have to vacate the premises until his appointment time. Oh yeah, let's see how many spots you can find in San Francisco to park a 18 wheeler!

Driving around for awhile, Craig finally saw some trucks parked along a street and thought he just might as well park there too. It served him well, and at the new appointed time, he pulled into the receiver again to find the docks still full. Inquiring inside, and after reminding them that they had indeed said he would have a dock at 5pm, they booted a Foster Farms driver out, which made him a tad bit upset, but at least Craig was in a dock.

You would think life would be great at that point, but as Craig's 14 hour driving clock was dwindling fast, he started thinking of what his options would be. Since he started the day at 6am to get to his first stop in Sacramento, he could only drive up until 8pm. But as it turns out, driving would be the last thing he would be doing.

Tick Tock.....Tick Tock.....the 14 hour clock runs out and Craig is still in the dock and the last pallet is finally unloaded from the trailer just after 8pm. All Craig can do is pull out onto the street, park, and pray that it is a place he can legally stay for at least 8 hours before he can legally drive again. He notices a couple of trailers parked here and there, and walks the street for a bit to make sure there are no posted "no parking" signs. Feeling somewhat confident, he crawls into bed and hopes for the best.

Awaking around 4am, he does the "peek out the curtain" routine to see if there was a ticket anywhere on the truck. Finding none and breathing a sigh of relief, he proceeds to get as far away from San Francisco as he can, before the morning commute starts. He has an easy drive into the yard in French Camp, where his truck is promptly put into the work bay, and I am waiting to whisk him away for a nice hot breakfast at the restaurant down the street.

It seems all is right in our little trucking world again. Although it had it's rough moments, the last load was successfully completed, with a boatload of detention pay, the truck has been repaired, and Craig has a full belly. It may not have worked out as we planned, but it worked out okay, and we'll take that outcome any day.

Trucking by Lorna Sim – closing soon!

2010-03-31T01:10:00.001-07:00

Congratulations to Canberra photographer Lorna Sim on her wonderful exhibition, Trucking, which is now showing at PhotoAccess. Lorna's stunning images of trucks on the road tell an eloquent story about an essential industry we all take for granted and, without ever showing them directly, the people who make it work. Trucking finishes on Sunday, 4 April. Try not to miss it if you are in the Canberra region.

More information, gallery details and the exhibition catalogue are available here. PhotoAccess will be closed on Good Friday (2 April) but open from 12 to 4 pm on Saturday and Sunday.

NJ Court finds Owner-Operator to be Employee for Worker's Compensation Purposes

2010-03-30T01:27:00.003-07:00

WORKERS' COMPENSATION — SCOPE OF EMPLOYMENT

39-2-7290 Chaverri v. Cace Trucking Incorporated, App. Div. (per curiam) (8 pp.) This appeal concerns whether an injury of petitioner, Guillermo Chaverri, occurred during the scope of his employment with respondent, Cace Trucking Incorporated. Chaverri was the owner and driver of a tractor trailer. He entered into a written lease agreement with Cace whereby Chaverri agreed to use his tractor trailer to perform hauling services exclusively for Cace. Chaverri further agreed to maintain, register and insure the tractor trailer at his own expense. Chaverri was performing maintenance on the tractor portion of the vehicle at his residence when he injured his right eye, causing him to lose the sight in that eye. The appellate panel concludes as a matter of law that the injury occurred during the scope of Chaverri's employment with Cace and consequently reverses the contrary ruling of the compensation judge.”

The Outfit in Chicago

2010-03-30T01:27:00.001-07:00

This Sun Times article is a window into how the Outfit (Chicago's Mafiosa) continues to have influence.

He's also the father-in-law of trucking magnate Fred Barbara -- a longtime Daley friend and nephew of the late Ald. Fred Roti, whom the FBI identified as a "made member" of the Chicago mob.

Barbara's companies have been paid a fortune through city deals under four Chicago mayors, and Barbara's wife, Lisa Humbert, was president of Karen's Kartage, a company that was paid more than $2.5 million from the city's scandal-plagued Hired Truck Program.

Barbara himself participated in a 1980s bombing of Horwath's Restaurant in Elmwood Park, according to testimony in the landmark "Operation Family Secrets" mob trial in 2007, though Barbara -- who didn't respond to a request for comment -- wasn't charged.

The article is about several employees that received cushy deals while working at McCormick Place. One of them is the father in law of Joseph Barbara. Barbara was implicated in a mafia investigation, though never indicted or convicted. Barbara's father, former Alderman Roti, was identified by the FBI as part of the outfit. In fact, Barbara's grandfather Bruno Roti Sr once ran with Al Capone himself.

Barbara is a trucking magnet that is also tied to the Hired Truck Scandal. He's identified as a long time friend of Mayor Daley. In fact, they went to high school together. There are just enough Outfit members that know Daley from the "old neighborhood" and from all their high school days. They've used those ties to help maintain influence.

Reuters vs reality

2010-03-30T00:22:00.005-07:00

(Reuters) - If you think now is a good time to try your hand as a U.S. truck driver with steady pay and a life on the open road, think again.

U.S.

The U.S. recession has turned a serious shortage of drivers into a surplus virtually overnight. Disappearing credit has hurt production and shipments of goods of all kinds all at once, idling thousands of trucks.

"When I began trucking two years ago you couldn't throw a dime up in the air without hitting a trucking job," said Brian Short, 26. "Those days are gone."

----------

That's Reuters take.

Reality is that good drivers are hard to find. Who wants to work for the low ball wages of 35-40K that some of these corporations are offering drivers?

No thank you. They'll just sit back and collect their unemployment check instead.

Good truck drivers are hard to find.

You want good drivers? Pay more!

The Reuters story?

It will soon be hopelessly dated.

Idle Pastime: In Off Hours, Truckers Pick Up Stitching

2010-03-30T00:22:00.003-07:00

WALCOTT, Iowa—Semi driver Dave White happily sequestered himself in his rig at a truck stop on a rural stretch of Interstate 80, waiting to pick up his next haul: 45,000 pounds of Spam. He used to loathe the downtime in his job.

Then, he bought a sewing machine.

For long-haul trucker Dave White, there's more to life on the road than finding a good rest stop. There's quilting. WSJ's Jennifer Levitz reports.

Since last year, when the economy left drivers with fewer hauls, Mr. White, a 6-foot-2, 240-pound ex-Air Force mechanic with a bushy mustache, has hunkered down inside his truck in his many off hours, making quilts from patterns with names like "Meet Me In Paris." When he's not sewing, he's daydreaming about it, he said as he ran a square of yellow cotton with little violets through his machine. "Oh, there's many a time you're just going down the road at O-dark-thirty in the morning and you just start thinking about a particular pattern."

Some truckers are finding themselves with more spare time on the road. Loads of goods delivered by truckers fell 15% in 2009, to 170 million loads, the largest drop in modern history, said Bob Costello, chief economist for the American Trucking Associations. That came on top of a slow downswing in hauls because of what the industry laments as "miniaturization" of goods: It takes less space to move flat-screen TVs and iPods than their clunkier predecessors.

With declining freight, truckers who drive hundreds of miles to make a delivery may not immediately have a load lined up for the return trip. So they bide time at truck stops, where they can shower, dine and sleep in their rigs. A couple of years ago, a driver might drop off a load and pick up a new one in two hours; now the wait can be two days, said Mr. Costello.

Though evidence is anecdotal, industry groups and trucking-company owners say the increase in spare time has spawned more hobbies. "We've got guys who are into opera, photography, skydiving," said Norita Taylor, spokeswoman for the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers' Association, a truckers' group.

Mr. White's employer, Iowa-based Don Hummer Trucking Corp., last year started a loosely organized "sewing club," and encourages drivers who are nimble with a needle to show off their handiwork at headquarters. "We want them to pass the time to make themselves happy, rather than get frustrated waiting," said Dena Boelter, Hummer's human-resources manager, an avid sewer who calls the hobby a great stress reliever that can be done almost anywhere.

Kevin Abraham-Banks, a 37-year-old trucker with a shaved head and dragon tattoos, passes time at truck stops with his cocoa and knitting.

View Full Image

quilt2

Gretchen Abraham-Banks

Kevin Abraham-Banks, a Sioux Falls, S.D., trucker, likes to knit while passing the time on the road. Here he makes a sweater for his wife.

quilt2

quilt2

Mr. Banks, who lives in Sioux Falls, S.D., and hauls romaine lettuce between California and the Midwest, learned to knit last year after load-volumes slowed. Creating something tangible beats sitting around the truck stop "talking about who has a bigger radio," he said. He's finished a scarf and socks, and is working on a sweater for his wife.

"The fact that you can take strands of thread and basically make something out of it, that's awesome I think," he said. "It's pretty cool stuff, man."

Still, trucking can be a macho world that doesn't feel conducive to knitting or sewing. Some 95% of truckers are men, said the ATA. At the Iowa-80 Truck Stop, whose signs bill it as the "World's Largest Truckstop," a top request at the theater is for "Smokey and the Bandit" and the on-site dentist, Thomas Roemer, often sees drivers only after they've tried to yank their teeth out themselves. Crafting with fabric and yarn is "nothing I would do—my mom does that," said Mark Sanchez, 47, a long-haul trucker.

Thomas McConnaughy, a married grandfather from Hemet, Calif., hauls cereal, reads his Bible, plays Sudoku, and talks trout fishing at truck stops. He doesn't let on to other drivers that he keeps 15 coils of yarn in his cab and makes what he describes as "really cute slippers."

"In the truck stops, it's usually a bunch of guys watching football," he said. "If I sat down with my knitting, I think there would be some funny remarks."

Mr. White, the quilter, who is 53, came to his new passion last summer after feeling he was wasting time "waiting on freight."

He drove 2,600 miles a week on average in 2009, versus 3,200 in 2008, even though he spent the same amount of time—about three weeks at a stretch—on the road.

[QUILT]

He struggled to find a hobby, having burned out on reading. He tried carting along a remote-controlled helicopter, but it kept falling on him from a shelf in the truck. His wife, Dee, an accountant at their home in Colorado Springs, Colo., is a quilter and suggested he try it. By August, they had outfitted his truck's sleeper cabin with a $179 sewing machine, supplies, and a starter's pattern. "Boy, let me tell you, I created a monster," she said.

Since then, Mr. White has made seven quilt tops, which are finished with a filling and backing between trips. He spends three hours a day on his hobby, sitting on his bed, with his sewing machine next to his mini-fridge. Flowered "project boxes" sit next to neat stacks of blue jeans and baseball caps. Quilting, he said, "gives you a little bit of ownership. You've actually accomplished something with your time off."

He pulled over once to visit the National Quilt Museum in Paducah, Ky., and if time allows, visits fabric stores in towns he rolls through.

In his truck, he showed a quilt with illustrations of fruit, and emphasized the importance of strategically placing quilt blocks so that "you don't get three lemons in a row or two plums in a row."

His blue eyes widened behind his glasses as he moved to the topic of thread. "There is a variegated thread that goes purple to white then back to purple," he said. "Oh! Just beautiful."

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704896104575139990857438962.html?mod=WSJ_LifeStyle_Lifestyle_5

Kentucky Collision Demonstrates Tragic Consequences of Trucking Accidents

2010-03-30T00:22:00.001-07:00

Just before sunrise on March 26th, on a hilly stretch of Kentucky Interstate 65, a tractor-trailer loaded with auto parts drifted out of its lane, roaring over a median, passing into the northbound lanes of the highway, and striking a passenger van head-on.

The van carried a group of members of a Burkesville Mennonite church, who were headed north for a wedding that weekend in Iowa. The passengers included a recently-engaged couple and members of their family, accompanied by several children and grandchildren. Of the 13 total passengers, only two survived. When his vehicle smashed into a rock wall and burst into flames, the driver of the commercial truck was also killed.

Reports called the crash "one of the deadliest traffic accidents in recent Kentucky history." Leroy Kauffman, pastor of the victims' church said, "We're experiencing a lot of heartache and a lot of sadness." State officials offered their sympathies to the victims and their families; Governor Steve Beshear was quoted as saying "Our entire state grieves," while the senate observed a moment of silence. Meanwhile, representatives of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) began an in-depth investigation into the cause of the crash, examining not only the background of the truck driver, but the company that employed him, and any road conditions that might have contributed to the collision.

The trucking company involved in Friday's crash had a relatively strong record; the Associated Press noted that "according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's online records, the company's 25 trucks and 30 drivers had been involved in two crashes in the past two and a half years, and only one of those resulted in any injuries." However, because trucks have such limited visibility and awkward maneuverability, their drivers must be especially vigilant, operating with an exceptional level of caution and care. Lack of training, the influence of drugs and alcohol, or even simple exhaustion (the crash occurred at approximately 5:30 AM) can be enough to cause an accident.

Due to the tremendous size and weight of commercial trucking vehicles, even seemingly minor collisions can have devastating consequences; the dangers of such a crash are multiplied ten-fold on a major highway such as I-65. Indeed, spokeswoman for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Ann Gibson noted that "cable-barriers" had recently been installed on that section of highway, so as to discourage and prevent vehicles from crossing over the median. However, such an impediment would have been insufficient in stopping or slowing a truck like the one that crossed over Friday morning.

Regardless of the NTSB's final determination as to the cause of the accident – and with whom the resulting liability rests – this tragic example underlines the extreme dangers present on highways and interstates across the country. If you or a loved one has been harmed in an accident with a tractor-trailer or other commercial vehicle, seek out experienced representation that can help you right the wrong that has been done. Personal injury lawyer James R. Gillen has a wealth of experience handling cases arising from crashes of this type; to learn more about his work in this area of law, please visit the auto and trucking accident page of Mr. Gillen's website.

Wow

2010-03-14T05:25:00.001-07:00

This past month has been insane. In the month of February I was awarded 3 days off at my day job. So far in March the trend has continued. Fortunately there is an end in sight just as things are starting to pick up with a couple paintings that I am working on. I love when everything comes together.

I thought I would just quickly post a couple images as I just finished painting with that "I could stay up all night and just look at this mark and this mark and this mark" feeling. It's awesome. The artist's high.

The first image is actually of the piece that I am working on now which gave me such a high. It is too dark in the studio to take a decent pic of it tonight but in sketch stage yesterday this is what it looked like.

I am stoked with the way this is piecing together. I also have big plans for the lower (you can't see it cuz it is not attached yet) part of this piece. It is going to involve some construction and be generally awesome!

The second image is of a more resolved piece in the smoke series which I am really excited about. This one came about in that flurry of putting down paint in efforts of trying not to waste any right before you have to leave studio. Sometimes this results in some very happy mistakes.
I for one am loving these.

I am really digging the amorphous quality of these smoke pieces and am really starting to see some reference to some Stuart Davis and Brian Barneclo in the shape of the smoke. More to come soon. For now I'm out. Just wanted to share quickly while I was feeling the right vibe.

peace
Mike

Road to Riches 2 v1.0 -TE

2010-03-11T00:17:00.001-08:00

Really cool time management game from big fish games released by 0day gropu TE. John is fresh out of the army and needs your help to succeed in the trucking business! Make deliveries and earn truckloads of money in Road to Riches 2! After his brother-in-law lends him a truck, it’s up to John to make enough money to pay him back. Drive around the city earning cash and purchasing newer vehicles. Can you survive the fast-paced world of trucking in this Time Management game?

Download

No Pass!!!

Cleaner trucks, cleaner ports

2010-03-11T00:16:00.003-08:00

The NY Times recently ran an article titled "Clearing the Air at American Ports" about an alliance between union members and environmental groups that aims to reduce port emissions by requiring the trucking companies that operate at ports to hire truckers as employees rather than independent contractors, and as a result, pay for newer and cleaner trucks for them. A successful model of this program was started at the Port of LA, and many are now pushing for Congress to change laws at the Federal level so that it could be more easily replicated at other ports around the country. As our neighborhood is so directly linked to an operating port, it is well worthwhile to think about how a program like this might effect local workers and the air we all breathe.

Below are some quotes from the article. The full article, which contains more details about related legal battles, industry economics, and opinions on both sides, is available here.

The Teamsters union and environmental activists have formed an unlikely and outspoken alliance aiming to clear the air in American ports, and perhaps bolster the Teamsters’ ranks in the process.

The labor-green alliance is getting under the trucking industry’s skin by asserting that short-haul trucking companies working in ports — and not the truck drivers, who are often considered independent contractors — should spend the billions needed to buy new, low-emission rigs that can cost $100,000 to $175,000 each.

The Teamsters union says seaport air is so dirty largely because port truck drivers earn too little to buy trucks that would belch out fewer diesel particulates, tiny particles that contribute to cancer and asthma. Working with environmentalists, the union helped persuade the Port of Los Angeles to adopt a far-reaching plan that bars old trucks from hauling cargo from the port and puts the burden of buying new vehicles on the trucking companies, not the drivers.......

The labor-green alliance achieved a major victory in late 2008 when it helped persuade the mayor of Los Angeles, Antonio Villaraigosa, a former union organizer, and the city’s port to require trucking companies to employ their drivers directly, making the companies bear the cost of buying new rigs.......

In addition to Mayor Villaraigosa, the Teamsters and environmentalists have lined up other backers, including Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg of New York, Mayor Corey Booker of Newark and other mayors, senators and representatives.

With a recent Rutgers study finding that port drivers earned $29,000 a year on average (after paying for their trucks, maintenance, fuel and insurance), Mr. Bloomberg said, “Truck drivers simply can’t afford to buy expensive trucks. They’re barely earning enough to make ends meet in a job that should be providing them with a solid, middle-class living."

Image above of the Port of LA from NYTimes

Long Loading Days

2010-03-11T00:16:00.001-08:00

Well got off loaded Monday morning then it was off to Albion, Michigan which was just under an hour south. This meant I had to cross at Detroit. It is not easy to cross there as you have to go through the city more or less to get to it, and its all messed up. Yet it’s the busiest port crossing in Canada, letting over 6000 trucks a day cross.

This is me crossing the Ambassador Bridge from the US on the left to Canada on the right of the picture.

Once across the border, my load was going to Ottawa, Capital of Canada, but I was just dropping it at our yard in Toronto and switching for an empty to go to another part of the city to load. The only down side to running single is you have to wait to be loaded and unloaded. Teams just drop and switch trailers saving hours upon hours. Canadians and Americans are just so laid back. They don’t worry about how long they take. Sometimes it can be only an hour, other times it can be six hours. Its ok for them, they get paid by the hour. Me I get a loading fee, but I can earn loads more driving than loading. So the longer I’m unloading/loading, the more I’m out of pocket. This is why now I have my own truck, I would like really long runs. As the less actual delivery days I have, the more miles I can do. Delivery days are always long days, that’s if you try and do your average daily miles too. Like this time, my off loading in the morning took 3+ hours and my reloading at night took 3hrs. Then to do at least 500miles a day, that takes eight and half hours. So delivery day I end up doing my maximum working day of 16hrs, just to do as many miles as I can.

When I pulled off the bay, I jokingly made a sarcy comment, “Wow, the three hours it took you to load me, I would have expected to have a trailer full to the brim.” It was only 25% full. I then drove till the early hours leaving me 10.5 hours left to get back to Woodstock the following day, which got me back late last night. This meant I had no more US hours left, so decided to come home for a couple of days to reset my hours. Then I will be back out on Friday, hopefully with the truck left as clean inside and out as I left it. The outside of the truck was Black,

Joe would have not been happy seeing it this morning in that state. So I took it to the truck wash early hours this morning. It took him an hour to do it. Then into the shop for maintenance.

We have had great weather these last couple of weeks, still only reaching 4-8 degrees but the snow has gone except the odd patch. Which is great except for one reason. I now have to find time to landscape my land as it still looks like a building site, all 5058 square meters of it.

Guess I better get dressed and get started by stacking the logs I just chucked out of the truck, so off I go till next time. Have a nice dayyyy

This is Montreal. All the housing estates in the cities are no Different here as back in the UK.All the houses are packed in like sardines

No more Ice here either

Trucking!

2010-02-11T15:20:00.001-08:00

As I think I have mentioned before Leah LOVES big trucks (18 wheelers) almost as much as she loves buses! Luckily for her my brother is a truck driver. So today Uncle John called Leah and said he was hauling logs to Dysart's and we could meet him there so Leah could get a ride. So we met him at the scales and rode over the scales with him and then drove across the street to the log yard to have the logs unloaded. She was mesmerized by the whole thing! She loved the crane!

Governor Perdue Announces Donation to Cargo Theft Prevention

2010-02-11T13:57:00.001-08:00

GBI Major Theft Unit has recovered $17.1 million of stolen cargo and property

Today Governor Sonny Perdue announced that the Georgia Motor Trucking Association (GMTA) has donated $16,000 to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s Major Theft Unit (MTU). Members of the GMTA joined Governor Perdue to commend the MTU on their dedication to investigating cargo and other major thefts in Georgia.

“Cargo theft represents a big concern and cost for trucking and other freight haulers,” said Governor Perdue. “The Major Theft Unit was created to identify and target the individuals and groups responsible for cargo theft in our state. This donation highlights Georgia’s efforts in combating this crime.”

Georgia is a major logistics hub making cargo theft prevention an important priority for the state. It is estimated that 43.5 million truckloads of cargo, valued at $1.4 trillion, traveled through Georgia’s highways in 2009.

The Major Theft Unit was created last year and has already seized $17 million in stolen cargo and made 71 arrests. In addition, the MTU has assisted in the seizure of $1.2 million in drug contraband. The MTU has provided cargo theft investigation and prevention training to both local law enforcement agencies and the transportation industry. Cargo theft is a nationwide issue with significant impact on the United States economy.

“The Georgia Motor Trucking Association has partnered with law enforcement as we work to investigate and prosecute persons committing cargo theft in this state. The financial support provided by the association will be used to purchase equipment for the Major Theft Unit and to train state and local law enforcement,” said GBI Director Vernon Keenan.

Cargo theft crimes account for an estimated direct merchandise loss of $10 to $25 billion per year in the United States. Georgia has become the target for cargo thieves operating in the southeast, and is now one of the leading states for cargo crimes. The Major Theft Unit is working in close cooperation with federal, state, and local agencies to investigate cargo and other major thefts in Georgia.

“GMTA and its members are grateful for the opportunity to support the GBI in this vital effort,” said Ed Crowell, President & CEO Georgia Motor Trucking Association, “Cargo theft is a growing plague across the nation and thanks to Governor Perdue’s leadership, as well as the skill and dedication of GBI’s Major Theft Unit, Georgia is now leading the nation in fighting back. GMTA will continue to this work in every way possible.”

The Georgia Motor Trucking Association is the only organization in the state that provides full-time service and representation for the trucking industry. The Association serves as the "voice" of the trucking industry in Georgia, representing more than 400 for-hire carriers, 400 private carriers, and 300 associate members.

Governor Perdue and GBI Director Vernon Keenan were joined by Ed Crowell and members of GMTA.
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Obituaries 02-10-2010

2010-02-11T00:27:00.001-08:00

Bobby Joe Turney1959-2010
Bobby Joe Turney passed away February 6, 2010 in Alpine, Wyoming while snowmobiling. He was born October 18,1959 in Philipsburg, MT to parents, Jack and Yuvanne Turney.He grew up in the Philipsburg area until age 2 when the family moved to the Big Hole Valley. At the age of 3, Bob had a close call with fate, nearly drowning while swimming at the Hot Springs in Jackson, MT. Then the Turney clan picked up and moved to the Ruby Valley. Bobby attended school in Twin Bridges until the end of the fifth grade, then his education went up the road to Sheridan, where he went to school from the sixth grade till the end of his sophomore year.The Turney family decided to move to Horse Prairie and Bobby went to BCHS to complete his schooling. Throughout his learning years Bobby had another school he attended that was taught by his dad, Jack. Jack was truly Bob's mentor. Bobby learned at a young age that the schooling that Jack was teaching him would be life skills that would carry on in life ranging anywhere from trailing cows, breaking horses, team roping to becoming an exceptional mechanic and welder. (Which was the knowledge he needed to fix the various things that he broke before his dad got home.)Bobby was also a motorcycle lover at a young age, which was sometimes good and sometimes bad. The motorcycle just happened to end Bobby's musical career of playing the saxophone, when a wreck with his sister knocked out his front teeth. Bobby seemed to have a knack for finding trouble.While at BCHS, he met the love of his life Jennifer Tenney and this is where the next chapter of his life began. They were married on February 2,1979. Bobby went to work for Holland Ranch Co., Ed Blome, Ned and Dave Wellborn, Cross Ranch and Cleverly Trucking. Then Bobby decided that a life change was needed so he went back to Grant to work with his dad in the shop, known as Independent Welding and Store. While there he became a jack of all trades and a master of none, as Jack used to say.While in Grant, Bobby worked closely with his dad on the Grant Fire Dept. He also spent time serving on the Grant School Board. Grant was the home of many memories and unlimited laughs with family and friends. Bobby then partnered with Mike Maloney in the logging business named Brokenass Logging. Bobby eventually bought it from Mike and expanded out into Brokenass Trucking. He began hauling hay, livestock and anything else that was worth hauling. His father in-law Jim “Gramps” Tenney helped him grow the business into what it is today. Brokenass Trucking has been a business that brought the whole family and close friends into the current day business of Turney Towing and Repair.Bobby's love for life included his children, grandchildren and everybody else's kids. He is survived by his wife Jennifer of 31 years, two sons Kelly (Cecelia) and Brandon (Toree) and his three daughters Shelley (Josh), Amanda (Coley), and Heidi (Tanner). Bobby also has six grandchildren Kaylinn, Braxtyn, Kennlie, Ella Mae, Ebbie and Jada. He is also survived by his mother Yuvanne, his father-in-law Jim “Gramps” Tenney, his brother Jay (Carole), sisters Cheri, Julie (Billy),Vickie (Matt), Jackie (Mark), sister-in-law Vicki and Gary Helm, brother-in-law Jason and Trish Tenney, grandmother Diane Rice of Philipsburg, Aunts Diane Bennett, Helen Cullinen, and Uncle Gary and Kathy Turney. Along with numerous nieces, nephews and cousins that brought great joy to his life. Bobby used to joke, once your part of the family you could never leave.He is preceded in death by his dad Jack, mother-in-law Ella Mae, and nephew Chris and a favorite Uncle Glenny.Bobby had many different hobbies, and snowmobiling was one of them. He cherished the memories he had with the many friends and family that shared this passion with him. The snowmobiling trips always came back with good stories and many laughs. The family would like to thank everyone who took part in making Bobby's life with us a truly great and memorable one, with stories that will never end.A viewing will be held Friday evening from 5 p.m. - 8 p.m. at the Brundage Funeral Home, Dillon MT. Funeral services will be held at the B.W. Lodge Gymnasium, Saturday February 13, 2010 at 10 a.m. A luncheon will be held following services at the Lutheran Church. A guestbook is available on line at www.brundagefuneralhome.com.

Larry Joe Salmonsen1943 - 2010
Larry Joe Salmonsen, age 66, died on Sunday, Jan. 31, at Ridgewind Assisted Living.He was born Aug. 22, 1943, to Elmer and Mary (Kenison) Salmonsen in Dillon, MT., attended school around the state, but graduated from Bozeman High School. He married Diane Householder in 1967 in Billings. They were married for 37 years and raised three children, Sharlene, James, and Kristin. In 1969, work took him to Nevada. In 1973, he moved his family back to Hardin and lived there for the next 32 years. He loved to watch high school basketball games. He had a big heart and was generous to those around him, giving whatever he could whenever he could. He is survived by his children Sharlene, James and Kristin (Cason) as well as a granddaughter Kamiah, all currently residing in Pocatello, ID., and his brothers Bill and Melvin, who both reside in Dillon.He was preceded in death by his parents, his grandson Kyle Salmonsen, and half-brother Glenn Salmonsen. Services were at the Brundage Funeral Home, Dillon, at 10 a.m., with a viewing 1 hour prior to a short graveside service which followed Saturday, Feb. 6, at Mountain View Cemetery in Dillon.

J. Abel Rodriguez1958 - 2010
Dillon - J. Abel Rodriguez died Thursday February 4, 2010 at the University Hospital in Salt Lake City as a result of a sudden stroke.He was born in el Pescadito, Rio Verde, San Luis Potosi, Mexico on January 5,1958 to Maria Sebastiana and Marcelo Don Rodriguez. Abel grew up in Mexico but spent his adult life in the United States where he proudly attained citizenship in 1995. After a few years of travel and work at a variety of jobs, Abel came to Dillon where he worked for 30 years on area ranches. His extraordinary energy, hard work and endless cheerful kindness made an impression on everyone he met. In recent years, while helping his wife with their restaurant "Las Carmelitas", Abel began a new career as a carpenter. He loved the work and everyone he worked with loved him.Abel met Rita Perez-Betancourt at the County Fair in Dillon in 1976. They fell in love, married, worked and raised their children in the Dillon Community. Abel always said, "babies love me". His own children, grandchildren and babies of his friends where all blessed to be held and entertained by him for hours.He is survived by his wife Rita Rodriguez, his daughters Irma (Jeff) Winters and their daughter Isabel; Carmelita Rodriguez and her son Lorenzo; son Carlos Rodriguez and his daughter Zofia and Zofia’s mother Irma Vazquez. His parents Sebastiana and Marcelo Rodriguez, siblings; Noeh, Guadalupe, Maria Socorro, Marcelo and many beloved nieces and nephews also survive.His grandparents precede him in deathAt Abel’s request, cremation has taken place.There will be a Memorial gathering for Abel Monday, February 8, 2010, 6:30 to 8:30 pm at the Lutheran Church, 715 E Bannack, Dillon.

Rose Anne Nelson1950 - 2010
Rose Anne Nelson born Rose Anne Robinette, Feb. 13, 1950 passed away suddenly Feb. 4.Rose is survived by her mother, Sylvia Kearns; daughters Tammy Gregory, Deanne Smith, Sabrina Saylor and Janice Rokusek; grandchildren Collin, Sharee, Zachery, Anthony, Tara, Logan, Jerri and Lilly; brothers Jerry and Michael Robinette; and nieces and nephews; Marisa, Joseph and Chantelle.She was preceded in death by her father, John Kearns.Rose was an LPN, dedicating her life to others. Her life was her family including her animals, especially her chocolate Labrador, Babe. She loved spending her summers in her yard gardening, visiting her children and traveling with her mom.A celebration of her life took place Monday, Feb. 8, at 7 p.m. at Brundage Funeral Home with a visitation prior to services from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. A guest book and video tribute are available at www.brundagefuneralhome.com.

Marv Amundson
Marv Amundson passed away Feb. 5. Services will be at St. John's, Butte, at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 10.Graveside services will be Thursday, Feb. 11, 10:30 a.m., at Mountain View Cemetery.

FIELD TRIP

2010-02-10T09:53:00.001-08:00

I got up at 3 a.m. to drive into work. It's my day off.

So why would I do that? Because the driver of the first bus that leaves in the morning offered me a trip up to Whistler. I haven't been up there for about 7 years, and so haven't seen the new highway. I also want to see what changes have been made for the Olympics. I want to drive the route up there to see the drop-off points for the workforce crew, the order they are in, how far apart they are, and other details so that I can be better informed when I am asked questions by the workforce because, so far, I haven't been able to answer hardly any.

My car gives me a lot of trouble on the way in. Ever since I had the new alternator installed, as soon as it warms up it starts to feel like it will stall, even when on the highway going 100km per hour. It usually only lasts five minutes or so then all is fine for the rest of the trip. This time it starts almost straight away and doesn't stop for most of the drive in. It's stressing me out hugely as I just can't afford to get it fixed and I don't want to miss any work.

I get there alright and the bus is pulling up to it's spot as I get out of my van. We leave about ten minutes later with only one other passenger, a woman in her late 50's - I would guess - who is a RN and applied to volunteer with the medical department but is working in print media. Go figure.

It's dark the whole drive up, but the driver - Patrick - gives a running commentary on the points of interest along the way. I listen attentively and it's a good thing because later I will need to remember what he's saying but I don't know that right now.

It's about a two hour trip and it's still dark when we arrive. Patric takes our passenger to the last stop. As we turn into the road that runs along the back of the new part of Whistler village, the trees lining the road are completely lit up with tiny blue LED lights and it looks like a fairy land. I try to take a photo but it doesn't turn out. I need to be on a tripod or at least leaning the camera against a solid object that isn't moving.

Once we drop off our passenger at the Whistler Village stop, we head back where we came from but this time Patrick turns into the other three stops; the media center, Whistler Creekside, and the last one, the Athlete's Village. Only we can't see the village because it's behind a bank of trees but there's a huge tent set up behind a security checkpoint. The buses for the athletes must drive into the tent and stop where bomb sniffing dogs and their handlers will go over each vehicle with a fine tooth comb. Once cleared, then they can continue on to pick up the athletes and transport them to their venue.

On the way back down the highway the sun is rising and the Tantalus Mountain Range is lit up pink. Patrick pulls over to a lookout point so I can get out and take some pictures. While we are there, an RCMP SUV pulls up to check on us. Apparently, any bus or vehicle that stops they come over to check out now that all security is beefed up for the games. There are RCMP all over the place. Even one on every street corner.

When we stop later for a doughnut and hot chocolate at Tim Horton's, there are at least 20 RCMP in there and I joke with them about the stereotype of cops and doughnut shops is true. We ask where they are from. Some are from Langley, some are from Ontario, and others from Alberta.

Patrick told us on the way up that there is a pod of whales in Howe Sound at the moment so now I am on the lookout for them. I spot something in the water far below and watch it for a bit but it doesn't move so I assume it's a log. I mention it to Patrick and he looks over and says that it is a whale. What I thought was a branch is it's fin. I am squinting at it, trying to make it out when suddenly it disappears under the water. Yep. A whale. We also see a few bald eagles in the trees at the side of the road near a small river. Apparently there have been a few black bears on the sandbar just up a short way from the bridge we drive over but there aren't any around today.

I ask Patrick about the trouble I am having with my car and he thinks it might be something as simple as low transmission fluid. I tell him I just had the oil changed and asked them to check all of the fluid levels and specifically that one and they said it was fine. But he tells me that unless they checked while the vehicle was running and in drive, you can't tell if it's low. Well I know they didn't do that as I was sitting in the car the whole time. So I need to do that as soon as I can.

When we get back to BCIT, Olga joins us and we turn around to make the trip back up to Whistler with a new group - three women and one young man. This time we are going to Whistler Olympic Park which is on the south side about thirteen miles from Whistler Village. It is full daylight now as it is 10 a.m. and the sky is blue with a few clouds. As we drive along, Patrick tells me that I will now give the guided tour that he gave me earlier. So I try to recall everything he said and remember most of it as we pass the mine at Britannia Beach, which used to be the largest copper mine in the British Commonwealth, and as well mined some gold, and is now a museum; Shannon Falls, the second highest water fall in North America (or so Patrick said but when I check later at home, it's the third highest falls in B.C.); and The Stawamus Chief, the second largest rock and the largest granite rock-face in North America (or so said my ex).

It's a beautiful drive up in the daylight but so painfully free of any snow, at all, anywhere but on the highest peaks. Usually at this time of year, the snow is piled ten feet high at the side of the road where the plows have cleared it off. I know it's nothing we can do anything about, but it's kind of embarrassing. The whole world will be watching and there's no snow. In fact, I heard on the news yesterday that it's the warmest January on record since they started keeping records. There isn't any snow at the side of the road until we get to Whistler proper and then it's not anywhere close to what is normal.

We turn off at the road to WOP, the acronym we use all the time at BCIT, and before too long we pull into the large parking lot. There's another issue with the warm weather. A few of the huge areas they cleared for parking is so soft and wet, the buses get stuck. This is because they fully expected the ground to be frozen, as it should be in January. So now they are frantically trucking in gravel to fill and firm the soil in the last few days before the games start. So between trucking in gravel, and trucking in snow from Manning Park (a five hour trip, one way) to Cypress and then heli-lifting it to the runs, we must be going seriously over budget even more than anticipated. It's not cheap to rent those massive helicopters day in and day out. It's a nightmare, really. There's no other word for it.

There's a group of bus drivers just arrived on two buses along with the big boss from our post down at BCIT. He's brought a bunch of out-of-town divers up to learn the route and how the drop off and pick up will work in this huge lot. He is surprised to see me step off the bus and seems impressed that I would take a day off to come up here and learn the route.

When we head back I get a good look at the Peak to Peak Gondola that connects Whistler and Blackcomb mountains. It's really, really high up. My daughter rode it with her husband a few weeks ago and she said that when she looked down, she was terrified as they were hundreds of feet in the air. It looks terrifying from way down here. But I'd like to come back and ride it some day.

The Mover (Story 299)

2010-02-09T09:05:00.005-08:00

Megan and Kellon's possessions were delivered by moving van today. The driver was missing his two front teeth. (He also happened to be an amazing driver and got his truck into a difficult spot even though the driveway hadn't been ploughed).

The Mover
He was missing his two front teeth. He had lost them thirty-three years ago. They'd been gone for so long now he didn't think about the space very often. It was odd that the first thing that people noticed about him was that he smiled unselfconsciously and that he had two missing front teeth, yet he smiled without considering the missing teeth at all. It just wasn't how he saw himself.

Every time he went to the dentist, they suggested that he could have a set of false teeth made up. Every time he told them “no”. He'd had them before. Just shortly after the teeth were knocked out in a hockey game when he was seventeen. He had never got used to them and eventually just left them in the bathroom cabinet.

When he'd taken the hit with the puck, he couldn't believe the pain he experienced, nor the amount of blood that came out of his mouth when he spit them out onto the ice. The dentist told him later that he should have stopped playing immediately and put the teeth inside his cheek or into a glass of milk, or some such nonsense. He has just spit the blood out and chased after the puck until the play was called and his coached pulled him from the ice.

He felt a little self conscious while he was waiting for his gums to heal enough to begin the steps needed to get the false teeth. He'd try to hide his smile, but he was smiled so often that it was futile. When he decided that he hated the fake teeth he'd given up even caring. If someone couldn't see beyond the teeth to the winning smile, then they just weren't worth troubling over.

He continued to play hockey while he did his training for long-distance trucking, but he'd given it up when he began working for a moving company that handled cross Canada moves. The expectations of style weren't that high for truck drivers. That was probably the reason his smile wasn't a problem. It certainly hadn't hurt his career.

When he financed the purchase of his own rig, the bank had seemed happy enough to give him the money. The day he signed the final papers the loans officer had smiled and shaken his hand in the same manner he had the jewelry store owner who had been in his office immediately before.

Today after he backed his rig into a particularly tricky driveway, he'd hoped down and smiled winningly at the family who were waiting to move into their new home. They certainly noticed his big toothless smile, but by the time all their possessions were off the truck and sitting in the their home, they long since forgotten.

They thanked him for all his help before he left and he responded with a big cheerful smile.

Seattle, WA CarrierRates.com Week 4 Discussion – Lets Talk on the Subject of Recalls

2010-02-09T09:05:00.003-08:00

Lets talk on the subject of recalls. Of course, the most prominent recent one is Toyota. We all know someone with a Toyota, or we may own one ourselves, such as Steve Lent, owing a 2009 Prius.

I like my Toyota. Naturally, I have a concern with this recall. The big question for Toyota is, given the circumstances, will people continue to buy Toyotas? I think so. Every company makes mistakes. This is a vision held by the public. What will concern people most is HOW TOYOTA HANDLE THIS RECALL! The psychology of buying a car is the same for psychology of owning one.

The purchaser of a car isn’t going to care if a seat is made in Thailand, or a transmission is made in Venezuela, or a window is made in France, all they know or care about is that they brought a Toyota. Is Toyota going to tell them to go to a supplier for their problem? Of course not. Toyota will accept the problem, fix it, and continue to be an excellent car manufacturer. “The buck stops here.” We all know where that came from. How very true. More Next Week…

The Night Shift

2010-02-09T09:05:00.001-08:00

The cheapest way to communicate in North America is using 10-4 phones. We have been wanting them for months. What they are is a normal cell phone, but also they turn into one to one walky talkies. Great invention. For $15 on top of your talk package. You get to use the 10-4 feature as much as you like for no extra cost. So I can be in California and Emma can be at home in New Brunswick, and we can talk all day if we wanted for no extra charge. When we was in the shop getting them. I was saying maybe this is a bad mistake, letting Emma be able to get hold of me 24/7 lol

Well I got into 840 at 9pm on Wednesday night. My load was going to Lawrenceville, Virginia again which is 1071 miles, the way they like us to go, and I needed to be there 7am Friday morning. The only way to do it, was doing the night shift. So I set off and managed to get to Milldale in Connecticut by 6am for my well earned rest, then set off again, arriving at 3am ready for my 7am drop, thinking there was going to be a massive queue of trucks waiting to unload. Luckily there was just one and he was collecting so I got off loaded straight away when they came in a 7am. They had already given me my reload in Suffolk, Virginia going back to Quebec. But as normal the trailer needed to be clean and very dry. Now the product I took down, is stored outside and was covered in snow. So the trailer was all wet inside again like last time. So off to wal-mart again for kitty litter to dry it out. Last time I was down there, it was lovely and sunny. Not this time, it was cold and a storm was on its way. Kitty litter gets rid of the excess water, but never dries it completely. So I was going to leave doors open for a while as I was still officially on break till after lunch. Then just as I had finished sweeping the trailer. It started to snow. So I had to shut the doors and hope it would dry in time for my pickup. Then I went back to sleep. When I woke, they had changed my reload to pickup in Hopewell, Virginia, instead going back to Ontario, and the car park was covered in snow, that wet slushy stuff like in the UK. I thought I went south to get away from the snow, not to follow me down lol.

Anyway I gets to my collection. Sits there for 2hour, waiting to load then at 5pm I finally get onto the bay only to be told my trailer was still to damp. Seven hours and still no dryer than when I left it. Lucky they had those diesel heaters. So I asked if I could put one of those in the back and put the shutter down. Another four and half hours later. It is still not dry, but was getting there so they decided to load me anyway. All this time I was not allowed in my cab. I had to sit in this drivers lounge. I was shattered by the time I set off at 10pm. The weather had gone from bad snow to hard rain, washing the snow away. I drove for an hour up to the truck stop for fuel and was going to have an hours sleep so I could drive all night again, but when I laid down, I was not tired, so decided to carry on driving. The rain started to turn to snow again. Buy the time I was half hour up the road. It was coming down fast and I had passed all the truck stops near me. The next one was 100 miles away. What a bummer. All I could do was keep going. If I was in Canada. It would not have been a problem as there would not have been much traffic on the road, and what traffic there was would know how to drive. Not in Virginia, and Maryland. They have not got a clue. They are not used to this amount of snow at once. Up to 42” dropped that night. On some of the un plowed roads. The snow was that high, my front Bumper was pushing through the snow, but I had to keep going to get to that truck stop.

Cars and trucks where stuck everywhere. I managed to snake round them and carry on. One truck looked like he had given up and tried to pull over to the edge of the road and park on the shoulder, only to go to far over and end up leaning over half in the ditch. He just left his lights and flashers on, closed his curtains, and went to sleep.

This plow had spun out and got stuck

In winter they line the roads with these three foot sticks so the plow dudes know where the edge of the road is. I just kept them at equal distance from me on each side, but sometimes the snow was just to deep to see them. So it was hard going. I tried to pull one truck out of the ditch, as a couple of guys that had stopped had got chains in their pickup, I just could not get traction though, so had to leave him where he was. The snow plow dudes where not that good either in Maryland. I had never seen as many plows in one place. I must have had ten around me at one point, and all they could do is follow each other in the same line. What a waist of time that was. 6am I finally reached the truck stop. Six hours to drive 120miles I was not impressed. The truck stop was chocker. Trucks even parked on the fuel island and went to sleep there. I found one spot right at the back. It looked like someone had just pulled out with the fresh tracks, so I tried to reverse in…. not a chance. I could not get a grip. So I turned round and just drove in nose first. Bad mistake. When I got up at 130pm, the snow was still coming down hard and my truck snowed in. not a single truck in the truck stop had moved, as most of the roads was shut anyway, due to accidents or just blockages as trucks had attempted to get up hills and lost traction and blocked the roads off etc.

Most truck drivers leave there engines running when they are asleep. you can tell in the picture which have engines running as there is no snow under the front of the truck.

In the new ones I don’t bother, I just use the bunk heaters to keep warm. So un known to me the snow covering the front of the truck had turned to ice underneath, so when I finally decide to attempt some more driving, as I reverse out. The ice did not want to let the front bumper go and pulls half my licence plate bracket off and cracks the bumper. I was not happy. Luckily I had taken the picture to show you guys how deep the snow was,

so I emailed it to Emma and got her to print it off to prove how I did it. I took some unclear back roads at first to avoid the road closures.

The further north I got. The snow got less and less till I got back into Canada then Toronto was clear thank god.

sometimes trucks have to stop at these places just before a large decent to check breaks.I switched my trailer at Brampton for one bound for Woodstock, and carried on till 5am again, mainly to make sure I could do the last part of the trip in one more day getting me back at 4am this morning. Not without a lot more snow though. The US storm had decided I had not seen enough and followed me up. It started from Montreal and never stopped all the 7 hours from there. Roads was bad again with it been over night driving, but was so much easier to drive on, with no traffic around me and been the dry stuff so managed to scoot along at 55mph most of the time. By the time I had got back, I had covered 2700 miles in the four and half days. Not my usual standard, but not bad to say I had delay after delay.

Well I’m out again tomorrow. I was nearly out again tonight, but the driver decided to carry on. So lets see what I get up to. Have fun till next time.

IWLA chief unfazed by recession's challenges

2010-02-08T14:40:00.001-08:00

A slumping economy didn't stop Joel Anderson from boosting the group's membership, finances in 2009. Now, he's looking to build on that success.

The conventional wisdom says that an economic slump is no time to try to build up a trade association's membership or launch a series of bold new initiatives. But apparently Joel D. Anderson either never got the word or chose to ignore it. Since taking the reins of the International Warehouse Logistics Association (IWLA) three years ago, Anderson has worked steadily to inject a new sense of purpose into the venerable organization. He has revitalized IWLA's government affairs program, expanded its education offerings, and—perhaps most impressive of all—implemented a membership recruitment and retention program that led to positive financial growth in 2009.

Anderson, who serves as the group's president and chief executive officer, has long experience in the association world. Prior to joining IWLA, he spent 28 years with the California Trucking Association (CTA), the last 13 as executive vice president and CEO. Before joining CTA, Anderson was an economist with the California Public Utilities Commission. He has a community college teaching credential in marketing and distribution, and has served on state and national panels on transportation, goods movement, and mobility.

Anderson spoke recently with DC Velocity Group Editorial Director Mitch Mac Donald about the challenges facing IWLA's members, the shifting regulatory winds, and what shippers might not know about 3PL services.

Q: Could you start by telling us a little bit about your background and how you came to be where you are today?
A: I graduated from UCLA in 1970 with a bachelor's degree in economics and then went to work as an economist for the California Public Utilities Commission, which regulated trucking in those days. I spent six or seven years with them, participating in rate-making and regulatory proceedings. At one of those proceedings, the head of the California Trucking Association's research department saw me in action. He offered me a job with the group, which I accepted.

I started out in the research department, and 15 years later, wound up running the whole organization. During my time there, I grew the finances and grew the membership in a trial-and-error way. I learned through the process how to run a pretty good government affairs shop and a pretty focused industry association.

I took a medical retirement in July 2005 when I had surgery for cancer. Afterwards, while I was sitting around trying to decide what to do next, I put my resume on the American Society of Association Executives' Web site, and it just so happened that IWLA was searching for a new president and CEO at that time. The search firm picked up my resume. I went through the process, got interviewed, and then received an offer to come here.

I started with IWLA in April 2006. In the first year, we grew a little bit, and in the second year, 2007, we grew substantially. 2008 was a retrenchment year—a time for realigning, refocusing, and restructuring the organization. In 2009, we began growing again, so I feel real good about the changes we made in 2008 to give us a better foundation to build on.

Q: Who are IWLA's members?
A: I would say that facility-based third-party logistics service providers are the core of our membership. They range from the company that operates a single 50,000-square-foot warehouse all the way up to industry heavyweights like UPS Supply Chain Solutions.

Over the years, our members have gotten more and more involved in value-added services, so that the warehouse is not just a static facility that is racking goods, but an operation that handles all kinds of subassembly, kitting, packing, and order fulfillment tasks. I just toured a warehouse in Indiana where I'd say at least 15 percent of the square footage was devoted to conveyor racks, assembly lines, and Internet order fulfillment—you know, something you would not have seen 15 years ago.

Q: What are the key challenges your members face today, and what is IWLA doing to help them in that regard?
A: There are several issues. One is a concern that probably wasn't on the radar screen with any frequency two years ago but in today's business climate, has become a growing problem for our members—the creditworthiness of their customers, the shippers or beneficial owners of the goods stored in the warehouse. We're seeing more problems with late payments and sometimes bankruptcies. So, we're getting more questions from members about the warehouse lien. Specifically, they want to know about the proper documentation and execution of the warehouse lien to protect their interests if, in fact, a customer goes into bankruptcy.

We're also getting more questions in these tough times on how to market: how to get your name out there, how to build your brand, how to take advantage of social media to market your services, and how to differentiate yourself in the marketplace.

We've done a number of things in response to those questions. For one thing, we developed the Logistics Services Locator (LSL), a free search engine that lets customers search for an IWLA member by location, company, keyword, and so on. We put a lot of effort into that and advertise it to the shipping community.

I also have developed a relationship with a consultant who specializes in 3PL marketing, Chip Scholes. He has made himself available to our members for help developing their marketing campaigns.

Basically, we're trying to help our members understand that in order to market their services successfully, they first have to sit down and analyze who they are and what they do better than anybody else. When times were good, people forgot that because freight came their way. But now, you'd better be able to deliver a clear message about who you are, what you bring, and why people should do business with you.

Q: What else do you offer in the way of member support?
A. We also offer training and education. Our education programs focus on ways to make your company more profitable. We have seven live classes every year plus webinars—all C-level oriented.

In addition, we have really ramped up our government affairs and advocacy work. We feel that the days of deregulation are over. If the government is going to look at more aggressively or intrusively regulating the supply chain, we want to be there to try to make sure those regulations working their way through Congress and regulatory agencies won't negatively affect trade and commerce.

Q: What does the future hold for your members—both in the near term and the long term?
A: It looks like people are starting to move inventories. You know, our industry totally relies on consumer behavior. The long and short of it is, if consumers buy, our people do well. If consumers don't buy, our people don't do well because it is velocity through the warehouse where our guys and gals make the money. I mean, storage is nice, but it's their move into value-added services that has significantly increased our members' role in the supply chain, and that is influenced by consumer behavior.

To a great extent, two items affect the long-term profitability of our members. One is regulations on international trade and commerce. In other words, how free is free trade? If international trade can flow freely, then we have an opportunity to be real creative in helping our manufacturers and shippers outsource, resource, insource—you know, whatever it takes to get the right amount of the right product to the right customer on time. Number two is encouraging our consumers to buy things. Almost everything else is secondary to that because if consumers are going to buy, then freight is going to move and we are going to have an opportunity to make money.

Q: What advice would you give a young person who's interested in pursuing a career in the logistics profession?
A: I'd tell them it's all about following up and following through. Do what you say you're going to do and then let people know you did it. Reliability is probably the number one thing in success because reliability builds trust.

Q: Recognizing that a lot of our readers are customers of your members, is there anything else you'd like to share with them?
A: I think the major point I'd like to make to your readers is how inventive and creative today's 3PL is, so that if they haven't looked at that—at letting that 3PL at least examine their supply chain for ways to reduce costs and boost order fulfillment performance—they should, because the entrepreneurs in our business are incredibly creative. That is what is so thrilling about being in this business. The people doing supply chain fulfillment now are just so incredibly, incredibly creative. The way they are using technology, the way they are managing their work force. It is just fun to watch. So if they haven't tried it, I would suggest your readers put a toe in the water and give it a try. I think they will be very impressed with the results.

Mid-Atlantic Snow Blizzard

2010-02-07T14:26:00.009-08:00

We left Wauregan, Connecticut late Thursday night, drove to Shrewsbury, Massachusetts to pick up a relay load of paper rolls at Flynn's Drop Yard, then unloaded at Jerich USA in Dayton, New Jersey Friday morning at 6:00 AM EST. We were dispatched to a Procter & Gamble plant in Avenel, New Jersey at 11:00 AM to take on 49 drums of various oils used in the production of their scented products. P&G detained us over two hours beyond my legal 14-hour workday for loading.

We found the nearest "safe harbor" (a trucking term which means the closest place to park after exceeding legal work hours) - the Molly Pitcher Travel Plaza near Cranbury, off the New Jersey Turnpike - and retired until Midnight Friday to start our journey toward Procter & Gamble in Browns Summit, North Carolina. The Mid-Atlantic snow blizzard hit Friday night. There was no chance of safely driving in this storm, so I rolled over in the tractor bunk to sleep until daybreak and check conditions at that time. The photo is of D-Rod Saturday morning after over two feet of wet snow had already accumulated overnight. It kept snowing all day Saturday, and the wind began to howl.

Finally, after 10:00 PM Saturday night, the blizzard subsided and we started on our way toward North Carolina. It took nearly 11 hours to drive 463 miles; definitely not a good MPH average. But all's well that ends well. We made safe delivery in Browns Summit this morning around 10:00 AM. We had to wait outside over an hour - with P&G employees - for unload; the Greensboro Fire Department was on site to deal with a small disturbance in one of the warehouses.

Summary of road conditions along I-95 corridor and south: Wilmington, Delaware (not good); Baltimore, Maryland (a little better); Washington, D.C. (2-3' of snow on the ground; dozens of stuck tractor-trailers); Southern Virginia (ice everywhere; 31,000 homes without electricity); Northern North Carolina (sunny, but cold, with piles of recent snow stacked everywhere).

Blushing with Nan

2010-02-07T14:26:00.007-08:00

I finished watching Series 2 of The Catherine Tate Show. She's such a lovely and wonderfully talented lady.

I love her Nan character. Nan wears a sweater, just exactly like my mum used to have. In her later years, mum got a bit "Nan"-ish, tho' rarely swore. Mum really hated women swearing...or men who thought it OK to swear around ladies.

Mum was a bit...old school. She was raised strictly, with a huge empahsis on courtesy and manners.

I used to be a Meals on Wheels volunteer, back in the mid-90's, in-between jobs, and before I went back to college full-time. I used to help package the food at the local senior centre, then get in the van, and be driven around the town and rural areas, delivering hot meals to shut-in's and sick people.

One of the women I used to deliver to, was a spry, white-haired 80-something woman named Ida. She used to work as a seamstress, back in the days when the Arrow Shirt Co., used to have a factory in the town.

Well, this lady used to openly talk about her sexual escapades as a young woman, and also had a mouth pretty much like your average trucker...and I dated a trucker (sort of--he kept forgetting to show up for the dates he'd made with me), and also was a trucking permit agent when I was around 24 years old. So, I should know about trucker language.

Well, Ida also used to ride the senior's van into the city, on shopping trips. The van would take old people who couldn't or didn't drive, into the nearby city and suburbs 8 or 10 mis away, once or twice a month, to go shopping at K-mart or Walmart, or weherever.

I used to go along with them sometimes, cos' for several years I was without a car, and mum was living with me. She was in a wheelchair part of the time. She could manage to get about the flat, and go for short walks, as long as she had her cane--but any lengthy walks or shopping trips required a wheelchair.

Yours truly had to push the wheelchair, so I went on shopping trips with the seniors. Well, I didn't mind. I like older folks, and it was a chance for me to get out of the rural town for a few hours, wasn't it?

Anyway, I'd ride along with mum in the van--but I'd sit up front, cos' the lazy old fart who was the van driver, didn't like to pry his lard-bottom out of the comfy seat, to help the seniors up into the big maroon people carrier the town used to transport seniors. I would jump out at each stop, and help those seniors who needed a boost, up into the back of the van.

One winter day, we're picking up seniors at their flats and homes, and Ida comes out, and I'm waiting to help her into the van, and she starts to slip on the icy floor of the sidewalk!

I rush to grab her, to keep her from falling, and 80-something Ida turns to me, and, gasping for breath, says, "Wow! I almost split my pus_y!"

Whoa. My mum never said anything like that! No one I know has ever said anything like that! I was a bit nonplussed...and probably blushing like hell.

But, then, she laughed, and I suddenly couldn't stop giggling. God, that was funny!

Oil, trucking industry interests sue to block California low-carbon fuel regulations

2010-02-07T14:26:00.005-08:00

California's innovative low-carbon fuel regulations, enacted last year in an effort to lower the state's contribution to greenhouse gas pollution of the atmosphere, are the subject of a lawsuit by oil and trucking interests.The regulations, which were finalized by the state's Air Resources Board last month, require fuel manufacturers to reduce the carbon intensity of their product by 10 percent by 2020.They require producers to account for indirect use of carbon in fuels, including during the manufacturing or refining processes. That mandate is controversial because, among other impacts, it may force corn farmers producing ethanol to account for the loss of land otherwise available to grow food and for wildlife habitat.California Air Resources Board chairperson Mary Nichols condemned the litigation, arguing that the regulations will save consumers money, lower fossil fuel use and reduce air pollution."Their actions are shameful," Nichols said in a statement. "Instead of fighting us in court, they should be working with us to provide consumers in California and the rest of the nation with the next generation of cleaner fuels."Plaintiffs in the lawsuit are the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association, American Truckers Association, Center for North American Energy Security, and Consumer Energy Alliance.A spokesperson for the American Truckers Association told the New York Times that the regulations would raise the cost of fuel and equipment too much. The litigation is pending in the U.S. District Court in Fresno.A similar lawsuit was filed in December by the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, California Dairy Campaign, Renewable Fuels Association and other groups, and a private ethanol company has challenged the regulations in California state court.The complaint filed by the refiners and truckers interests is here.

Trucking along...

2010-02-07T14:26:00.003-08:00

Not a whole heck of a lot going on around here. The baby has started eating solid foods. She's a big fan of bananas, not so much sweet potatoes. :) We got to my weekly spanking last Sunday, which seems to be the most convenient day for it. It was very nice, and followed by other stuff that was even nicer!

I'm settling into the routine of cooking every night, and I'm actually quite enjoying it. The house looks nice the vast majority of the time, and it's just nice to be able to be home with the baby. Anyway, sorry for the boring post - just popping in. Have a great week!

Women Over 40

2010-02-07T14:26:00.001-08:00

It's Super Bowl Sunday and as much I love a good game with the pigskin and look forward to watching the clash between the Colts and Saints, I find myself staring down a long list of stuff I need to get done for work. Working on a Sunday sucks, as I'm sure many of you realize. But on Wednesday, John, Chase and I are escaping to a place with a lot more snow, a lot lower temperatures and plenty of mountains and ski runs nearby so all the work I'd normally be able to get done on those days must get done in advance. So here I sit, watching football pre-game but writing about trucking. And then I came across an email from a friend that really hit the spot and I thought I'd take a minute to share it here. It's a monologue by Andy Rooney of 60 minutes about Women Over 40.

And while I'd like to point out that I am not over 40 :-) every bit of this applies to me already as well as all my fabulous over- and nearly-40 friends. So this is for you, ladies!

"As I grow in age, I value women over 40 most of all. Here are just a few reasons why:

A woman over 40 will never wake you in the middle of the night and ask, 'What are you thinking?' She doesn't care what you think.

If a woman over 40 doesn't want to watch the game, she doesn't sit around whining about it. She does something she wants to do and it's usually more interesting.

Women over 40 are dignified. They seldom have a screaming match with you at the opera or in the middle of an expensive restaurant. Of course, if you deserve it, they won't hesitate to shoot you if they think they can get away with it.

Older women are generous with praise, often undeserved. They know what it's like to be unappreciated.

Women get psychic as they age. You never have to confess your sins to a woman over 40.

Once you get past a wrinkle or two, a woman over 40 is far sexier than her younger counterpart.

Older women are forthright and honest. They'll tell you right off you are a jerk if you are acting like one. You don't ever have to wonder where you stand with her.

Yes, we praise women over 40 for a multitude of reasons. Unfortunately, it's not reciprocal. For every stunning, smart, well-coiffed, hot woman over 40, there is a bald, paunchy relic in yellow pants making a fool of himself with some 22-year-old waitress. Ladies, I apologize.

For all those men who say, 'Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free,' here's an update for you: Nowadays 80 percent of women are against marriage. Why? Because women realize it's not worth buying an entire pig just to get a little sausage!" --Andy Rooney

Restless Night

2010-02-07T00:07:00.003-08:00

The wind is streaming and swirling through the trees

they swing and toss like wheat before the storm.

The sound of branches rubbing on each other

comes through the night, above the sighing of the wind.

The train horn calls, changes tone, and fades away

with the rumble of wheels upon the rails.

And little dog howls die off in the distance

as the chill of night drops down from the sky.

Nary a twinkle of star nor gleam of moon to be seen

just the slow red pulsing of beacons on towers and tanks.

As leaves rustle, I shiver in the breeze,

then back to warm shelter and light I retreat.

The frogs are all silent, from the birds not a peep,

the squirrels are all tucked safely away in their beds.

The sound, the only sound, is the moan of the wind

as it pushes and searches for a home of its own.

The darkness is seething with life in the night;

to still once more ere the light of dawn.

Oil, trucking industry interests sue to block California low-carbon fuel regulations

2010-02-07T00:07:00.001-08:00

California's innovative low-carbon fuel regulations, enacted last year in an effort to lower the state's contribution to greenhouse gas pollution of the atmosphere, are the subject of a lawsuit by oil and trucking interests.

The regulations, which were finalized by the state's Air Resources Board last month, require fuel manufacturers to reduce the carbon intensity of their product by 10 percent by 2020.

They require producers to account for indirect use of carbon in fuels, including during the manufacturing or refining processes. That mandate is controversial because, among other impacts, it may force corn farmers producing ethanol to account for the loss of land otherwise available to grow food and for wildlife habitat.

California Air Resources Board chairperson Mary Nichols condemned the litigation, arguing that the regulations will save consumers money, lower fossil fuel use and reduce air pollution.

"Their actions are shameful," Nichols said in a statement. "Instead of fighting us in court, they should be working with us to provide consumers in California and the rest of the nation with the next generation of cleaner fuels."

Plaintiffs in the lawsuit are the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association, American Truckers Association, Center for North American Energy Security, and Consumer Energy Alliance.

A spokesperson for the American Truckers Association told the New York Times that the regulations would raise the cost of fuel and equipment too much.

The litigation is pending in the U.S. District Court in Fresno.

A similar lawsuit was filed in December by the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, California Dairy Campaign, Renewable Fuels Association and other groups, and a private ethanol company has challenged the regulations in California state court.

The complaint filed by the refiners and truckers interests is here.

Will Anything Be Done?

2010-02-06T13:42:00.003-08:00

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

FOUL v2.0: the Jesus Lizard '89-'94, remastered

2010-02-06T13:42:00.001-08:00

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!

Drill Baby Drill?

2010-02-06T08:26:00.001-08:00

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.

"Keep on Trucking!"

2010-02-05T09:09:00.001-08:00

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

2010-02-05T09:08:00.007-08:00

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

2010-02-05T09:08:00.005-08:00

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

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

2010-02-05T09:08:00.003-08:00

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.

Trucking on a Journey

2010-02-05T09:08:00.001-08:00

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.

Trucking Jobs have Dropped During the Recession

2010-02-05T05:52:00.001-08:00

Azteca Supply, Its Owner, and Owner's Husband Indicted for Alleged Minority Contract Fraud, Including Two O’Hare Projects

2010-02-05T02:22:00.007-08:00

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.

Sholem Bernstein

2010-02-05T02:22:00.005-08:00

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!

2010-02-05T02:22:00.003-08:00

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?

"Keep on Trucking!"

2010-02-05T02:22:00.001-08:00

Transportation Industry Downsizing

2010-02-04T14:11:00.003-08:00

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

Trucking Jobs have Dropped During the Recession

2010-02-04T14:11:00.001-08:00

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

2010-02-04T11:44:00.003-08:00

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

2010-02-04T11:44:00.001-08:00

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:

"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!

2010-02-04T09:42:00.001-08:00

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:

"Trucking Load Theft"

2010-02-03T12:18:00.001-08:00

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

2010-02-03T10:44:00.001-08:00

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…

Truck Hits Tree, Catches on Fire

2010-02-03T10:42:00.001-08:00

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.

Diesel Fuel Substitute

2010-02-02T05:39:00.005-08:00

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.

2010 Worldwide Freight Trucking Long Distance Industry Report-Aarkstore Enterprise

2010-02-02T05:39:00.003-08:00

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!

2010-02-02T05:39:00.001-08:00

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

2010-02-02T03:45:00.003-08:00

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!

2010-02-02T03:45:00.001-08:00

Diatribe, Part the Second

2010-02-02T03:44:00.003-08:00

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

2010-02-02T03:44:00.001-08:00

2010 Worldwide Freight Trucking Long Distance Industry Report-Aarkstore Enterprise

2010-02-02T03:14:00.001-08:00

2010 Worldwide Freight Trucking Long Distance Industry Report-Aarkstore Enterprise

2010-02-02T02:18:00.001-08:00

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

Diatribe, Part the Second

2010-02-02T01:38:00.001-08:00

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.

2010 Worldwide Freight Trucking Long Distance Industry Report-Aarkstore Enterprise

2010-02-01T13:47:00.003-08:00

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

BREAKING NEWS: ARROW Trucking Company Vanishes!

2010-02-01T13:47:00.001-08:00

Tight Delivery Schedule

2010-02-01T12:38:00.003-08:00

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!

2010-02-01T12:38:00.001-08:00

This is the year for auto transport carriers to begin to succeed again…

2010-02-01T12:14:00.001-08:00

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.

This not sleeping well stuff is the pits...

2010-02-01T05:03:00.003-08:00

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..

Trucking

2010-02-01T05:03:00.001-08:00

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

BREAKING NEWS: ARROW Trucking Company Vanishes!

2010-02-01T00:34:00.001-08:00

BREAKING NEWS: ARROW Trucking Company Vanishes!

2010-01-31T23:19:00.001-08:00

Trucking - The Nature Of The Industry Part 2

2010-01-31T17:54:00.001-08:00

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.

Ireland 2010

2010-01-31T14:52:00.001-08:00

Our tour this year will take us to the lovely counties of Clare and Galway on the west coast of Ireland we are looking to spend the four nights in hotels in: Wexford, Westport, Doolin and Carlow.

After arriving in Rosslare from our ferry journey we will make our way to our hotel in Wexford, after a quick wash and brush up we will make our way to the local pub for some grub and an evening of Irish music.

Tuesday will take us on our run through the heart of Ireland towards our next night in Westport. Another evening of good food and music at the famous

“Matt Malloy’s Pub”.

Wednesday will allow us to explore the best of the areas known as “Connemara National Park” in County Galway. This is a beautiful and rugged area in one of the remotest parts of Ireland; we will ride around the Connemara coastline with stops in some of the picturesque villages along the way. If it’s a clear day we will ride along the “Sky Road” and enjoy the views across the islands and mountains of this lovely part of Ireland.

After an entertaining night and some good grub in Doolin, Co Clare, we will visit “The spectacular Cliffs of Moher”, “The Burren” a landscape carved out of limestone that has a character of its own and is unique in Ireland. This will see us saying farewell to this lovely corner of Ireland as we make our way back across country towards Carlow for our last night.

After a lie in and a wander we will make our way over the Wicklow mountains and follow the Wicklow coastline towards Rosslare for our journey back to Fishguard on the 2100 ferry, arriving in Fishguard approximately 0100 for our night journey back home.

More details will be available when the trip is booked.

Regards

Tony

Sunny Sunday

2010-01-31T13:26:00.001-08:00

Awoke in the sleeper bunk at 11:00 PM CST last night - parked near Oshkosh, Wisconsin - to get ready to roll toward Missouri. Temperature inside the truck was 8°F. Electrical circuit protection switch had tripped during the evening in an attempt to save the tractor batteries during the cold; there were no available interior cab lights or accessories. D-Rod started right up (there are three batteries reserved to crank the starter motor), so I let him idle over an hour for heat and to recharge the batteries before getting underway.

Drove nearly 500 miles through the night/morning. Prior to sunrise, temps under a brilliant, full moon ranged from 6°F to 15°F in Wisconsin, Illinois and Missouri. Stopped for fuel in Springfield, Illinois; drove in light Sunday morning traffic around St. Louis. We're parked about 45 miles from our delivery location at Procter & Gamble in Neelys Landing, Missouri, near the Mississippi River. Plan to drop this load at 11:00 PM tonight, unless dispatch changes these plans with info on our next assignment.

Trucking ... The Nature Of The Industry - PART 1

2010-01-31T12:28:00.001-08:00

This blog probably won't make me any friends because what I am about to tell you goes on behind the scenes of our every day lives and most of us have no clue.
I stopped driving truck full time when I finally had a reality check in Texas. I was at a huge Grocery Store Distribution Centre. I want to Say BROOKSHIRE Distribution.
I had driven all weekend from Friday on to get there for Monday Morning. I got there, but so did nearly up to 100 other trucks and drivers. It's not uncommon to wait, infact, you can wait all day at a distribution centre and not even get paid a dime for that.
I got myself into the waiting room where nearly 50 drivers sat. I stood as there was no place to sit. I scanned the room. Stinky, old, young, grubby, fat, skinny, sad, sleepy, and miserable looking drivers. I looked around the room and there I am. Freshly shaved, smelling good, fit, and ready to start another beautiful Monday.
I thought to myself as I scanned the room over and over... if I stay as a driver... will I end up this way... Tired, Fat, Miserable and so forth... I felt I was looking at my own future.
BROOKSHIRES is NOT a DRIVER FORCED UNLOAD FACILITY: Most distribution centres... its the drivers responsibility to restack skids to match the shelving of the distribution centre. It's called LUMPING... Lumpers are available at most of them where you pay for a team of people to offload your truck and restack it. If they don't have it... there you are doing it yourself.
So here I am... restacking boxes into small piles. They wanted it stacked in a configuration. At the end, they come check your work and ensure you did it right before releasing you.
It's the equivalent of you ordering someone to bring you some groceries to your door... but then you invite them in and have them put it away. Even though you ordered it, you are the user from that moment it arrives, it's the drivers responsibility to ensure it's piled in a way that is accommodating them.
Where is the logic... where is the fairness. I have just driven nearly 3,000 KM to get them their product and now it's my job to restack it so they can put it away in their warehouse? This is very very common in the industry and is expected. Most drivers bitch about it... but the customer trumps everything and we have to do what is required.
I thought to myself... whatever!
More to come!

BREAKING NEWS: ARROW Trucking Company Vanishes!

2010-01-31T08:59:00.001-08:00

BREAKING NEWS: ARROW Trucking Company Vanishes!

2010-01-31T08:17:00.001-08:00

BREAKING NEWS: ARROW Trucking Company Vanishes!

2010-01-31T07:43:00.001-08:00

Officially moving onward...

2010-01-31T05:06:00.001-08:00

I am sitting in an empty office on the floor in our empty house! The packers and movers came on Wed/Thursday and took all of our stuff! They are now in some other state trucking along! I am now waiting for 2 of Ben's work guys to get his truck weighed and then they will be back to hook up the boat! These amazing guys volunteered to drive the boat and truck to WA for us! I have made the drive before and let me just say it can be quite dull! They are excited to get away for a few days and then also get to see Ben when they arrive! They are a huge blessing!
In amongst all my crazy days of moving all our belongings I have been able to hang out with some wonderful friends that we have made here! They all have been a huge blessing in our lives and that is one of the hardest things about moving...Jesus has blessed us with true friends!
Ben is doing well! Of course I call every day to check up on him! He raised his eyebrows when I got on the phone to chat with him which makes my heart melt! Some of my family members have gone up while I have been gone to check up on him and that makes me feel so good! I am so grateful that they are there to be with him!
I fly back Sunday and will hopefully be getting into another schedule....when things settle down!
Blessings to you all and prayerfully more good news to come soon from WA!!

Ice-Road Truckin'

2010-01-30T12:19:00.003-08:00

My dad likes to watch this show where the truck out supplies to oil rigs in big semi-trucks over the frozen sea-ice. I decided to try some of my own ice-road trucking this morning with disastrous results:
You see, with the overnight temperatures at something like 26 degrees, the top of the ground (which is completely saturated from recent major rains) was frozen. I figured, I could haul some round bales up to the upper pasture where the cattle are at by driving OVER the frozen ground. I hitched up to the trailer (see below) and immediately hit a snag - the trailer was totally frozen into the ground.
Those bales are somewhere around 1,200 to 1,500 pounds each(by the way, how do you like my new trailer?)
I guess it should have served as fair warning, but I rocked it back and forth for a few minutes until it popped loose and I was able to pull it all the way up to the upper pasture. As we went, I could tell trouble was coming...You see, the gate was closed, so I was going to have to stop and park to get out and open it before trying to get going again. Sure enough, after I opened the gate, I couldn't get going again. So I backed up a bit and tried again, nope. Backed up a bit more, nope. Again and again until I was really stuck with no more room to back up.I called Jessica and asked her to bring out the suburban (assuring her that it would not get stuck.) Unfortunately, the Suburban is (or should I say was?) in an extremely rare state of having just been washed. Unfortunately, the temperature was climbing and things were melting. Unfortunately, she got stuck. Long story short, I pushed her out (then stood helplessly as she showered me with a roostertail of mud as she drove off), then unhooked the trailer where it sat and spent another 30 minutes getting my truck unstuck before heading inside in cold muddy dejection, having failed miserably in my attempt to get the hay unloaded. Will someone please slap me the next time I try to buy a 2WD truck?

Frickin' frackin': Part 2

2010-01-30T12:19:00.001-08:00

"You're not senate material. You're not even mayoral material."--WILK's Steve Corbett on Wilkes-Barre Mayor Tom Leighton, Friday, 1/29/2010

So three names are mentioned as possible successors to retiring state Senator Ray Musto, but only one of them gets ripped to shreds. Corbett's personal vendetta continues.

I suggest these two meet in a cage wearing boxing gloves, with no referee, no rules, and the proceeds go to a charity. A Wilkes-Barre-based charity, that is.

Yeah, the proceeds could go to a homeless shelter for aging hippie burnouts.

Since the moving vans are probably parked in front of Kayak Dude’s Web site, and since he provided the following news snippets concerning Marcellus gas drilling, I figured I’d post them here for your review.

Natural gas truck stopped on Bradford County road weighing 41.6 tons over weight limit

By Jason Whong •mailto:•jwhong@gannett.com • January 28, 2010, 10:45 pm

The driver of a natural gas industry service truck that was more than 41.6 tons over the weight limit on a Bradford County road received more than $25,000 in traffic citations Tuesday, according to state police in Towanda.

Police said Kevin Parsons, 44, of New Albany, Pa., was the driver of the truck found parked on Covered Bridge Road in Burlington Township. The road has a posted weight limit of 10 tons.
"We've had so many problems lately with blatant (weight limit) violations," said Cpl. Roger Stipcak.

"We've tried ... to educate them about this stuff, but now we're going to start taking them forthwith to the magistrate," Stipcak said.

Police said the truck is owned by Hodges Trucking Co. of Oklahoma City, Okla., which Chesapeake Energy lists as a subsidiary on its Web site.

"It's only going to get worse with all these gas companies coming in," Stipcak said.

And once those rural roads and posted bridges are trampled under tire and need to be rebuild, who pays for that? Not the drilling outfits. Not the owners of the leased properties. No, that would then become the problem of smallish, cash-strapped boroughs, and townships, most of which are sparely populated.

In addition, there’s a serious safety consideration. With trucks running that far in excess of the posted weight limits, you have to wonder about the maintenance of these vehicles, naming the air brakes.

Subject: more Compressor Station Hell videos

A young family in Eastern Ohio is suffering from intense noise and vibrations from the natural gas compressor stations 300 yards away from their home, they have to sleep in their basement most nights to be able to get a full night of sleep. Blowdowns occur over 20 times a week, sound levels reach above 95 dBA inside their home, windows vibrate. This has been going on since 2004, and has gotten incredibly bad since 2007. The company, Dominion, doesn't care, the government authorities are turning their heads and saying its not their jurisdiction, the burden of proof is on this young family.

New videos from the family here...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJXj9Y-XinQ&feature=channel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dUfnd1Lw3o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9v9gO3Ct-28&feature=related

The EPA's noise department was shutdown in 1982, and the only remaining federal authority which can regulate noise is the Federal Energy Regulatory Commisssion (FERC), but FERC rules of an "average 55dBA" may not apply to the worst plant, East Ohio Dominion, because that natural gas transmission company only "cleans" and transports gas locally (by cleaning I mean the plant removes contaminants from raw gas, it is a mini-refinery, hence the intense air pollution at sites in DISH, TX). Health effects of noie are numerous but for adults include cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, behavioral changes, irratability.

In fetus loud chronic noise causes birth defects. In tests of baby chicks who are subjected to loud noise the chicks do not exhibit normal peeping behavior, in young rhesus monkeys subjected to loud chronic noise the monkeys exhibit anti-social behavior. Children nor adults, nor especially pregnant women (since their child will be physically affected for their entire lives) should be living near a natural gas compressor station. For more information on health effects of noise see nonoise.org for more information on laws regarding noise and other video links regarding compressor stations please see my previous post on this topic, check out nonoise.org, or contact me (nastassja)

What?
　
A readers comment first, then the story...name deleted by MC.

Explosion or blowout? If that "tubing" that was uplifted was drilling
pipe, it is in 30' lengths and weighs 500 lbs. From the account, no
telling how many lengths were in the string that lifted, but there can
be a lot of energy released in a blowout. Blowouts can more
destructive than explosions. Assuming that Chesapeake is correct that
uplift was brief, it is possible the uplift was stopped when the
blowout preventer kicked in.

On Jan 28, 10:01 pm, Lisa Wright

http://thedailyreview.com/12-45-p-m-update-chesapeake-denies-its-well

The incident involving a Chesapeake energy natural gas well this morning in Tuscarora Township was not an explosion, a company spokesman said early this afternoon.

Brian Grove, Chesapeake's director of corporate development in Towanda, in a prepared statement, described what happened as "a brief but forceful uplift of tubing." He specifically denied that the phenomenon was an explosion.

Three employees of a contract company were transported to a hospital, he said, but none had critical injuries.

"There was no release of any materials that could be harmful to the environment and the situation presents no danger to the public. This is all the information that is available at this time," Grove said in the statement.

According to transmissions over Wyoming County 911 communications at the time of the incident, an explosion took place at the Mowry well site of Chesapeake Energy on Clapper Hill in Tuscarora Township.

One person was thrown in the air 30 feet, and suffered back pain and injuries to his wrist and another individual sustained back pain, according to preliminary reports.

Emergency crews were called out, according to the scanner transmission, but there was no visible fire. Laceyville Fire Chief Scott Fisher refused to comment at mid-morning, saying he would need to finish his report first.

Jim Vajda. Bradford County's Emergency Management Agency director was re[ported on the scene and unavailable for immediate comment.
　
This seems to be the ‘norm when there are incidents at gas drilling sites. No one seems available for comment. And no one wants to comment. The EPA usually releases a noncommittal cookie cutter comment. And the gas company involved says, ‘All is well. Have a cookie.’

This would be a nice thing to live right next to, especially when you consider that after the neighbors lease their lands away in hopes of becoming modern day Beverly Hillbillies, you would be powerless to stop it.

Photos of gas flares/ Flaring a Marcellus Gas Well

All is well. Have a cookie and a glass of tainted water.

Later

Friction, Baby - Pushing Ink

2010-01-30T08:15:00.001-08:00

Jamming's a state of mind. And Jamming I've been. Welcome back for today's installment of "what is floating around in Mike's brain?" There's a lot of exciting jazz on the docket today so stay tuned....

I am the featured artist today in the Concord Variete. I will be showing some birds and birdhouse pieces from the Dwellings exhibit, some random bird pieces and a few new drawings that I put together yesterday and the day before. I really enjoyed making some small drawings "just for fun" as they were pertaining to no show and were really just on a whim.

They will all be framed and a cheap pick up if you can make it to Concord tonight. Here they are in no particular order.

Yup these two drawings were packed with some pink punch. As an artist, I really love pink and who knows maybe in everyday life I will one day own a pink caddy? You never know.

What do you think of this guy? I really dig this character. I was thinking Boss Tweed and Thomas Nast drawings, but way more innocent and a little more avian. I gotta get a book of Thomas Nast. He was the man.

Next we have another fine specimen of robot chasing a seemingly innocent bird. This doesn't sound familiar to you does it? I can't get enough of this stuff. But it beats blue dogs...

Next up is a little Valentine's Day action for the robot in you. This guy has a heart and a trapdoor to show it!

Last but not least....I've been thinking about fishing and baseball lately. That is what I usually am thinking about long about the end of January. Why you ask? Because I live in a New Hampshire and it is cold and snowy, and I know that once fishing and baseball seasons arrive, there is only like 2 months of winter left. Ha.

Hope you folks have a good day. I'll be back soon, and if you're in Concord tonight, stop in and say Hello.

peace
-Mike

GM receives pedal complaints on recalled Pontiac Vibe | detnews.com | The Detroit News

2010-01-30T03:16:00.005-08:00

David Shepardson / Detroit News Washington Bureau

General Motors Co. said today it has recently received complaints of sticky accelerator pedals from recalled Pontiac Vibe models.

But GM reiterated that the 2009-10 Vibe models are "safe to drive." GM said no injuries have been reported in any of the complaints.

GM hadn't received any complaints prior to the recall of 2.3 million vehicles on Jan. 21 by Toyota Motor Corp. that included 99,000 Pontiac Vibe models.

From The Detroit News: GM receives pedal complaints on recalled Pontiac Vibe | detnews.com | The Detroit News

Bad news for the environment and for truck drivers

2010-01-30T03:16:00.003-08:00

IdleAire, an innovative green firm which allowed truck drivers to warm their cabs during break times without idling their diesel engines, thereby reducing fuel costs and exhaust pollution, announced that it will close today. IdleAire was a system located at selected truck stops which allowed a driver to ventilate warm air in the winter, or air-conditioned air during warm months, into the cab and sleeping cabin of a truck during the driver's break times. Without this system, or another auxiliary power unit, (APU), most drivers leave their diesel engines running in maintain a comfortable living temperature while they rest. According to the company's own website, IdleAire "contributed to saving over 50 million gallons of diesel fuel and prevented over 1.1 billion pounds of diesel idling emissions from entering the air" as well as "(reducing)the carbon footprint by preventing over 519,000 metric tons of CO2 from entering the atmosphere".

This is bad news for truck drivers, particularly those in states like New York and Pennsylvania, which prohibit drivers from idling their engines during breaks. Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations mandate that over-the-road drivers take a 10-hour break after either 14 hours of work or 11 hours of driving. Since most trucking companies will not invest in APU's for their trucks, these anti-idle laws mean that drivers are unable to heat their trucks during their breaks. During summer months, the inside of cabs quickly reach a temperature 20 degrees or more higher than the outside air, making it impossible to sleep without operating an air conditioner.

The time has come for trucking companies to own up to their responsibility for their drivers' safety, and for the protection of our environment, as well as for our nation's energy independence. It is also time for our federal government to recognize the importance of our nation's trucking companies to our economy by offering substantial tax subsidies for companies that buy APU's for their trucks. Such a program would benefit the environment, help ensure that drivers are properly rested before reporting for work, and spur the industry that produces Auxiliary Power Units.

The time is now for truck drivers, as well as anyone who has ever purchased something delivered by truck (that means YOU) to contact your Representative and ask that Congress offer tax subsidies to trucking companies to companies that help the environment by buying Auxiliary Power Units for their fleets.

PHONE HAZARD

2010-01-30T03:16:00.001-08:00

SO YESTERDAY MY PHONE BROKE, IN THE MIDDLE OF WISCONSIN BRISK AIR WITH THE TRUCK BREAKING DOWN --- GRRRR. NOT A GREAT START TO THE NEW TRUCK. WELL ---- KEEP TRYING I KEEP TELLING MYSELF. SO WE SIT ALL DAY FRIDAY BECAUSE THE PART WON'T BE IN UNTIL SATURDAY TO FIX THE TRUCK. WELL IN THE MEAN TIME WE ARE BORED, SO WE WALK ABOUT A MILE DOWN THE ROAD TO EAT SOME DINNER. THEN WE GET FINNISHED AND WE ARE HEADED BACK TO THE TRUCK AND DAN DECIDES HE'S BRINGING THE CHICKEN BACK WITH US. HE GOT THIS BRIGHT IDEA THAT HE'S GOING TO LEAVE THE CHICKEN OUTSIDE AND FREEZE IT AND THEN BRING IT IN WHEN HE'S HUNGRY TO WARM IT UP. HMMM ----- MEN WHAT AN IDEA IS ALL I CAN SAY.
SO ON THE WAY BACK I TELL HIM BECAUSE IT IS SO FRICKING COLD, THAT IF HE WILL TROTT AT LEAST TROTT, I WILL CARRY THE CHICKEN, HE SAYS NO OF COURSE, BECAUSE OF HIS KNEES. WELL I CAN'T TAKE THE COLD SO I START RUNNING. AND AT THIS POINT I'M DYING.
SO, MY CHEST IS DYING DOWN TO MY THIGHS AND WHEW---
HE GETS IN AND DOESN'T LOOK TO GOOD. SO, HE ASKS ME IF I WANT COFFEE AND I TELL HIM YEAH, BUT I LOOK AT HIM AND TELL HIM, DUDE, I TOTALLY ALMOST DIED OUT THERE. I WAS RUNNING AND I HAVE COLD SPLINTERS FROM THE COLD IN MY THIGHS AND MY CHEST. IT'S HORRIBLE -- HE JUST STARTED LAUGHING ---- NOT FUNNY AT ALL ----

01/28/2010 Spectulation gone awry

2010-01-29T15:28:00.001-08:00

After the movie last night I had stayed up late enough that it would not be long after I awoke that work assignments would start be dispatched. I had not expected much due in most part to the large number of drivers already at the yard when I pulled in last night.

I figured it would play out much like this. I'd get a mid afternoon dispatch for a system load (read non-glass) delivering some where Friday in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, or New Jersey. After that a deadhead move to Laurinburg or another system load somewhere in the Southeast that would deliver Monday but that I could run through the house for the weekend. That would allow the company to maximize the tractor utilization and also allow me my time at home. A short time at home but time at home none the less. It would also allow me to get my mileage up for the week which stands at a record low 600 miles or so. None of that happened.

On a side note. I should have waited until Sunday to deliver the Coshokoken, PA to Newton, NC. Our week closes Saturday at midnight. That would have served to keep Uncle Sam from digging into my paycheck so deep and beefed up this weeks miles to a somewhat more respectable level. That was my error. I hadn't been tracking my miles and didn't realize that they were as high as they were.

Anyway all the expectations and figuring expressed in paragraph 2 were totally off the mark. So much for knowing what is going to happen. Kudos to the powers that be, that decided early enough to make this weekend very nice one indeed.

Nine O'clock or so the QC beeps. New work assignment. Pick up glass load 1/27-30/2010 17:00- 23:59. That means the load could be ready anytime between yesterday 01/27/2010 at 5pm to 01/30/2010 at midnight. The load delivers Monday so this is my get me through the house load. Ok so no more miles this week. No problem the boss/wife has already been warned about this possibility. The window on them getting this load ready is pretty large. It is now time to see how lucky I am. So I call the shipping desk to see when the load might be ready. BINGO!!!. It is ready now. By the time I cinch down the load and drive to the house it will only be mid-afternoon Thursday. SWEET. Perhaps I can surprise my wife. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at home that will certainly balance out the pain from a extremely small check next Friday. Got to find the Silver linings where ever they present themselves.

I'm at home now. I don't have to leave until Sunday morning. And Monday morning I'll be in Jackson, MS with 1100 miles on the books. From there they usually send me further west to Texas. But to speculate further than that is a waste as I have shown here today.

You have a nice weekend. I know I will

Bookerz out

Auto Insurance Liability Trucking

2010-01-29T14:38:00.003-08:00

Ask your peers what experiences they have been entered and the auto insurance liability trucking for even just one of the best auto insurance companies in your area, try taking to the auto insurance liability trucking can use this tool is the metropolitan auto insurance. Comparing the auto insurance premiums on the car insurance score among different kinds of people wonder how much full coverage will cost.

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72 to 11 in Three Days

2010-01-29T14:38:00.001-08:00

Switched back to insulated Carhartt bib overalls, double socks and an extra sweatshirt. The temperature was 72°F when we left Central Florida Tuesday; it's 11°F where we're parked in East-Central Illinois this morning.

Left Southaven, Mississippi at Midnight Thursday and ran straight into the leading edge of a ice/snow storm headed eastbound out of Texas and Oklahoma. Drove on accumulating ice for sixty miles along I-55-N in Northern Arkansas and Southern Missouri. Came upon a two-car accident on top of an overpass and a single-car slide-off past another overpass.

Continuing north to Green Bay, Wisconsin at 10:00 PM tonight. Hopeful to make safe delivery at Procter & Gamble around 4:30 AM CST Saturday morning.

BLATANT VIOLATIONS + THAW = ROAD DAMAGE

2010-01-29T14:06:00.001-08:00

Natural gas truck stopped on Bradford County road weighing 41.6 tons over weight limit
By Jason Whong •jwhong@gannett.com
pressconnects.com
January 28, 2010, 10:45 pm

The driver of a natural gas industry service truck that was more than 41.6 tons over the weight limit on a Bradford County road received more than $25,000 in traffic citations Tuesday, according to state police in Towanda.

Police said Kevin Parsons, 44, of New Albany, Pa., was the driver of the truck found parked on Covered Bridge Road in Burlington Township. The road has a posted weight limit of 10 tons.

"We've had so many problems lately with blatant (weight limit) violations," said Cpl. Roger Stipcak.
"We've tried ... to educate them about this stuff, but now we're going to start taking them forthwith to the magistrate," Stipcak said.

Police said the truck is owned by Hodges Trucking Co. of Oklahoma City, Okla., which Chesapeake Energy lists as a subsidiary on its Web site.

"It's only going to get worse with all these gas companies coming in," Stipcak said.

Police said they investigated the truck, which they said was parked illegally, at about 12:30 p.m. Tuesday and learned the truck's oversize load was being transported with an invalid permit.

Police then weighed the truck and saw it exceeded the road's 10-ton weight restriction by 83,208 pounds, or 41.6 tons, without a permit.

Police said they also learned of "numerous other permit violations" in the investigation. They did not provide a detailed list of the violations or the exact amount of the fines.

Parsons was arraigned before Magisterial District Judge Timothy Clark, who impounded the truck and its load. Parsons pleaded guilty to the violations, police said.

Heavy trucks can damage roads that weren't built for heavy loads, Stipcak said.

"Take a look at some of the roads that these trucks are running on. They're clumping and breaking up," Stipcak said.

"With this last thaw we had, the roads are really starting to fall apart."
LINK

DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY!

Cleaning Out…Everything!!!

2010-01-29T05:33:00.001-08:00

It’s funny how every once in a while all of the stars in the universe will align and point right at whatever it is God wants us to be focusing on. For me, right now, I’m feeling called to be more organized. I’m one of those weird people (forgive me, if you’re in the same boat, but people think we’re weird) who craves…no, NEEDS, organization and order in my life. When it’s lacking, I don’t function well. It’s like, no matter what’s going on, I can’t truly focus because there are so many things left UNDONE in the background of my mind. Ever felt like that?

Life has been in fast-forward around here for the past couple of years, for various reasons. It seems like one day I woke up and looked around and realized…I’m not living in survival mode any more. I can slow down and FOCUS on what needs to be done and then—you guessed it—get it done! So that’s where I’ve been for the past month or so. We started the day after Christmas in our office/playroom, and once we got that done, it felt so good, we made a master list and kept on trucking. I’ve posted on my blog about a couple of different projects, but there’s one I’ve been hiding. Because I’m embarrassed. And maybe a little ashamed.

If you’ve visited my blog before, you know that we live in a small house. A very, very small house. But we moved here from a larger house, with more rooms. Where, you ask, did that furniture go? Ah, good question. You see, we have…gasp!...a storage unit. Like all things, it started out as a positive, as we were able to move things a few boxes at a time over the year it took us to finish remodeling our house, sell it, find a house here, and move. It was great to be able to move for real on the big day in just one big truck…and we didn’t dare stop to count how many truckloads and trailers we’d already hauled to storage. You see where this is going, right? Over the past few years, we’ve inherited some things that we want to keep but don’t have room for. So we put them in storage. We had a second child, so we had to move things around a bit. Where’d we put the extra stuff? Say it with me: in storage! We’ve added to our keepsakes, our Christmas decorations…heck, sometimes when we find something and don’t know what it is we just haul it off to storage to deal with it later.

And it finally caught up with us. Last winter, we went to storage and found a very large rattlesnake skin. Yikes! Thank goodness we didn’t find the snake, but we didn’t dare dig around in there very much. Then came warm weather, but life got in the way…and then it was Christmas time again and when my husband went to get our Christmas tubs he came home just…disgusted. It was time to face it. So we blocked off a couple of Saturday mornings, called in a babysitter, loaded up the truck with trash bags and labels and brooms and hand sanitizer, and we went in. Unfortunately, I don’t have a before picture. But I can tell you—this place was stacked to the CEILING with junk. We couldn’t walk in—we had to pile stuff out to even get in a few feet. Forget getting to anything in the back! That first Saturday, we hauled off a truckload of stuff to recycle or donate or trash. So that’s one. And we were here…look, I can see the walls and ceiling!

A week later, we hauled off another entire load to donate and ANOTHER entire load to recycle (old boxes…were you wondering? We needed to get stuff out of cardboard boxes, so we moved a lot to plastic tubs and reorganized as we went.)

And then, this past weekend, we went back to finish. It’s funny—things I thought I couldn’t live without were so easy to part with. A year ago, I wouldn’t have been able to let some things go. Heck, a year ago I wasn’t even almost interested in getting my storage ducks in a row. But this was hanging over our heads for too long…every time James and I would talk about starting a home project, it would always come back to, but we shouldn’t start anything until we take care of storage. It was embarrassing to know that we had so much STUFF cluttering up our storage and our lives. Not that all of the stuff was/is bad…but we weren’t honoring that stuff or being good stewards by leaving it there in old cardboard boxes to be damaged or age too quickly. And then there’s the whole, you know, stacks and stacks of stuff we didn’t want to deal with so we—literally—threw it into the storage unit. Ugh. It’s hard to think about, hard to admit. But we did it, we slogged through it all and pretty much finished. We still have 2 boxes to go through, but all in all, I’m still in shock that we could go out there now and have a picnic on the floor. It’s a major improvement to even see the floor, sadly! Another truck load of stuff hauled away later, and here it is…

It’s not completely finished—the stuff in the middle still needs to come home and be sorted out here and some of it will find a new home, but look at the difference! I’m proud of what we accomplished. It wasn’t all that hard, and it wasn’t horribly time consuming. We just had to set our minds and hearts to do what God was telling us to do all along. I can’t tell you how much better I feel having this huge item crossed off my perpetual to-do list—I feel like, finally, that part of my mind is freed up to focus on other things! Like, hmm, life with my kids!

Here’s the thing, for me: on the surface, I seem pretty organized. Of course I don’t have it all together, but I try really hard. But for every cabinet that I am embarrassed to open in front of a girlfriend and every closet I won’t open when family comes to visit…those things cause shame and they take away my joy. Shame is a pretty strong word, I know, but anything that separates me from my God or my loved ones is shameful. Every day as I work toward my goal of getting my life—seen and unseen—in line with where God wants me to be, I count each straight drawer and every organized cabinet and every clean closet as a victory. Like the plaque on my back door says, “it’s the little things in life that make living so grand!”

Thanks to our friend Kristi from Adventures of MommyGirl is guest posting again! Be sure to pop over to her site and say hi!

Headed to Frozen Tundra (AKA Green Bay)

2010-01-28T23:23:00.003-08:00

Drove over 400 miles during the early morning hours - from Richland, Georgia to Memphis, Tennessee - to drop and hook a load of wooden pallets from Alachua, Florida at IFCO Systems (photo above) this morning around 9:00 AM CST. Awaiting live loading now of wooden pallets in Southaven, Mississippi at CHEP (photo below); this load is due at a Procter & Gamble facility in Green Bay, Wisconsin Saturday morning. There's a possibility of freezing rain in the Memphis area and north sometime Friday morning. I already miss Florida.

SITTING AND WAITING ---

2010-01-28T23:23:00.001-08:00

THIS IS THE PART THAT IS JUST TO MUCH --
WE GET TO WISCONSIN AND WE WAIT AND WAIT AND WAIT, -----WE GET OUT OTHER TRUCK - THROW OUR STUFF IN IT AND GET TOLD WE HAVE TO GET TO ANOTHER PLACE TO GET IT FIXED. OH JOY I'M THINKING. SOME DAYS --- GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!! SO WE HEAD OFF -- IN THE MEAN TIME DAN SAYS HE FORGOT HIS EYEGLASSES, IN WHICH HE CAN'T DRIVE WITHOUGHT. WELL, HERE WE GO.
SO WE GET TO THE MAINTENANCE PLACE AND THEY TRY TO FIX IT AND THEY FIND THAT IT IS MORE THAN JUST AN ELECTRICAL PROBLEM. THEY NEED TO ORDER A PART THAT WON'T BE HERE UNTIL TOMOROW. OH AND ALSO THERE IS ANOTHER PART THAT NEEDS TO BE ORDERED THAT CAN'T BE DONE UNTIL LATER, WHICH WON'T GET US OUT OF HERE UNTIL SATURDAY.
IN THE MEANTIME I AM LOOKING AT THE CRAP ON THE TRUCK -- OVERWHELMED-- BECAUSE BETWEEN THE 2 OF US THERE IS SO MUCH STUFF STITTING ON THE BEDS THAT I JUST DON'T EVEN KNOW WHERE TO START. I JUST FEEL LIKE IGNORING IT ALTOGETHER. I MEAN AT THIS POINT COULD IT GET ANY WORSE. WHAT ELSE COULD YOU POSSIBLY ENDURE OUT HERE.
SO SLOWLY I START TO PUT IT ALTOGETHER AND IT TAKES A TOTAL OF 2 DAYS. ALL I CAN SAY IS FUN FUN FUN. ---

USA - A ban on "texting" by truckers and bus drivers

2010-01-28T07:39:00.009-08:00

[reuters] The U.S. government on Tuesday banned hand-held "texting" by drivers of large commercial trucks and buses to avoid the danger of distracted driving.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a statement the prohibition takes effect immediately. It follows a similar ban in December for drivers of federal government vehicles.

"We want the drivers of big rigs and buses and those who share the roads with them to be safe," LaHood said. "This is an important safety step and we will be taking more to eliminate the threat of distracted driving."

The new ban carries fines of up to $2,750.

Research by trucking regulators show that drivers take their eyes off the road for much of the time that they send and receive text messages, and they are significantly more at risk of getting into an accident than someone who is not texting.

U.S. bans "texting" by truckers, bus drivers

Truck Driver iPhone users new iPhone Application 'iBOL'

2010-01-28T07:39:00.007-08:00

PCS Software, Inc. is doing their best to help out in the trucking industry. Last week they released a new iPhone application called 'iLoadFinder' its for truck drivers to find loads from various "load boards" offering loads for them to haul. Now this week, PCS Software, Inc. has released another iPhone application for truck drivers called 'iBOL'..
More at Examiner.Com
http://www.examiner.com/x-15044-Truck-Industry-Examiner~y2010m1d27-Truck-Driver-iPhone-users-new-iPhone-Application-iBOL

Goodbye Guinea Fowl, Hello Truck Stop

2010-01-28T07:39:00.005-08:00

This week I learned that the land I grew up on will be a truck stop as of mid-February 2010. Each day after that up to 32 trucks with trailers, those eighteen wheelers that terrify motorists as they race along the N3, will drive over the land where once stood our horse stables, pigsties, and my grandfather's cow shed. Soon I will wonder if it is true that I once played barefoot here and watched the penny stinker grasshoppers leap, the shongalolos curl into spirals, and the snake swallow the frog. Alas, these memories, taken for granted back then, have not been passed on....

This time next month the unique veld grass that only grows on this plateau, in this part of the Valley of a Thousand Hills, in this section of KwaZulu Natal, will be replaced by tar and macadam and encircled by a high brick wall. The thorn- and corral trees will be gone, chopped down, roots dug up, and hauled to a waste dump to rot slowly among discarded papers and toys, food scraps, and plastic bottles.

I worry about the weaver and Hoopoe birds and the flock of four adult guinea fowl with two new chicks that live in the scrub and bush among the razor wire under the electric fence that, until this week, separated Thor Chemical from our land.

It is not as if this was a pristine environment. For decades, Assmang – called Ferralloys during my youth – belched smoke most days and flared most nights on the western horizon. Despite the black dust that cakes our buildings that facility is as familiar and as annoying as an old relative puffing a pipe on the back porch.

It was a shock when Thor Chemical arose on what was also once my grandfather's land...and a further shock when it contaminated the region with toxic waste. Then, three years ago and despite “the process” required when a new facility is built – the EIAs, meetings to gather input from Interested and Affected Parties, and local residents' outcry against the facility – Chlor Chem chlorine manufacturing plant went up across the road where my grandfather grazed and dipped his small herd of Jerseys.

Melvin, a nice enough man who owns the truck stop, represents the much vaunted South African entrepreneur. He must be relieved that, somehow, his trucking business was not subject to “the process.” And, if it was, it flew so low under the radar that we – right next door living lives that eschew the entrepreneurial spirit that digs into, dumps upon, fills, burns, and sucks dry the land – knew nothing about his truck stop's imminent arrival. Melvin dreams, not of shongalolos, penny stinkers, and guinea fowl but of his 32 trucks speeding along the nation's roads. He worries, not about flora and fauna, but that his cargo – perhaps plastic bottles filled with syrupy liquid, or reams of paper from many pulp and paper mills, or kids' toys imported from China – arrive on time and on budget at Makro, Super Spar, Click's and Game.

Truth is, my grandfather could have been Melvin. He, too, was an entrepreneur, out to make a buck, feed his family, and leave something by which to remember him. He believed in owning land and he bought as much as he could afford from someone who'd bought and sold it from someone else, all the way back to the English king's land grant to George Cato. Back then wild creatures abounded: Duiker and other buck, leopard, civets, lynx, snakes, chameleons, fowl, frogs, thousands of species of birds, beetles, mantis, grass hoppers, spiders, ants.... My grandfather dug up a portion of the land, conveyed it into a rock crusher, graded it according to the formula of his day, and sold it to spec housing developers.

Indeed, entrepreneurs like my grandfather and Melvin – decades apart in how they conduct business – are the global norm and follow the multi-generational mindset to dig, build, trade, promote, and bequeath plots of land despite the loss of indigenous flora and fauna.

It just so happened that King Shaka's tactics in this region had left the area underpopulated at the time the English king's land grant displaced indigenous communities. Nevertheless, as I walk around to photograph the last of the thorn and corral trees, stroke the veldt grasses, and warn the guinea fowl to find safer ground, my heavy heart reminds me that I share these feelings of loss, and anger, and impotence, and sadness, and fear – with millions of others who have seen their histories disappear under the mindset that admires tar and macadam, brick and block, smoke and smog. I haven't seen a wild Duiker for years while chameleon and mantis, sensitive to environmental pollution, disappeared long ago.

This is how people the world over lose that which few of us recognize as the only human heritage worth working to maintain: our natural environment. As they say, lives ends not with a bang but a whimper.

RECYCLE: Joy Division 01 An Ideal For Living

2010-01-28T07:39:00.003-08:00

The Power of Independent Trucking is proud to link up with the folks at the Recycle blog (well, £50 Note at least) to present the Joy Division chapter of RECYCLE - £50 Note's yeoman effort at doing the box set that should have happened all along.

The mind behind the PoIT curtain - your own Analog Loyalist - is overseeing and handling the mastering work of the raw audio tracks. £50 Note is managing the general presentation and the artwork. Occasionally I will host over here differences, or oddities, I've come across while restoring the audio.

Today we feature the premier release of the nascent Joy Division, the EP recorded in December 1977 that became the highly-sought-after An Ideal For Living 7"/12". While the tracks themselves ultimately saw wide release on 1988's Substance, and then 1997's box set Heart and Soul, the quality of both issues was just so-so. Furthermore, the box set versions sounded *worse* than the 1988 release! Why, I have no idea. It's almost as if the box set used a cassette dub of the tracks as its source, while 1988's Substance went back to the masters.

Anyhow, oddly enough, the original vinyl pressings themselves, and all subsequent digital reissues (which I have confirmed by comparing to raw transfers from the actual original 7" and 12" releases) were mastered a bit fast, perhaps to be more punk? I don't know, and all I do know is that the recordings were not in concert pitch. It could simply have been a mastering error, or perhaps the band themselves didn't own any tuning equipment.

So of course I corrected it, for this post at least. £50 Note is posting the pitch-accurate-to-original-release version, as he should. If you want the pitch-accurate-to-a-tuning-fork, however, you're at the right place.

Lossless FLAC, remastered from the original Japanese CD pressing of Substance - the best digital source I've been able to locate. Grab them here!

JOY DIVISION
RECYCLE 01: An Ideal For Living
7" debut release, Enigma PSS139 (June 1978)
12" reissue, Anonymous ANON1 (October 1978)

01 Warsaw
02 No Love Lost
03 Leaders Of Men
04 Failures
05 At A Later Date (bonus, from the Virgin CD issue of Short Circuit)

See the post over at the Recycle blog for more details, and my original mastering notes.

Enjoy!

Trucking Along

2010-01-28T07:39:00.001-08:00

I'm continuing to work on the Cathedral window quilt, in between 7th birthday party preparations. I have completed 8 blocks of 4. I haven't stitched them together yet because I want to have the bulk of them done first so I can play with the layout. I cheated a bit and stitched the bottom centermost blocks together though. I wanted to stitch a couple of the empty windows to see how the diamond layout looked when finished properly. My game plan is to prepare and then sew rows of 4 blocks of 4 at a time.
Here is the next row ready to go. I best get started! Nap time is almost over.

Private Pilot - The Joy of Flying

2010-01-24T08:34:00.003-08:00

There is nothing like the feeling of sliding into a Cessna 172 or Piper Cherokee 180 and heading off into the sky. The sense of freedom is enormous, and whatever worries or problems you may be facing, just fade away. It is an incredible feeling!

Nearing my 22nd year of professional truck driving, nothing can clear my mind or ease my spirit as much as flying. The sound of the engine, lowering the flaps, full rich mixture and power and the aircraft shooting down the runway and then . . . lift off! Now this is cool. This is more than cool . . . it is totally awesome!

After CDL training, the stress of trucking can wear you down sooner or later. Trucking will take over your life until you have no life . . . if you let it. After a hard three or four-week run, all a driver wants to do when they make it home, is rest. In a few days they will have to head out, and start it all over again. It is imperative that someone who lives the life of a trucker, has hobbies that they can enjoy when they are home. It is very important to be able to do those things for relaxation to mend the mind and body, before having to jump in the truck again.

Many will enjoy a movie out with their families . . . a fishing trip . . . time out on the boat . . . a motorcycle ride . . . whatever it is, a driver should set aside that time at home for rest and enjoyment. Life is too short to spend it always in a truck. Most trucking companies don’t understand this. The only thing that exists in life is the freight. Forget about the freight for a while . . . and enjoy life when you can before it’s gone.

I look forward to riding my Harley every chance I get. What a rush! But, flying . . . now there is freedom and peace. Have you ever thought about becoming a pilot? It’s not hard at all, and is not too expensive . . . and the joy it brings is immeasurable. Only if it is two or three hours a week or several hours a month . . . the rewards are great.

At 3500 feet or 8500 feet, all the stress and worries of daily life seem to disappear. It makes you realize that we are very small creatures inhabiting this planet! It brings your perspective of things back to a normal realization. If you are one who’s entire life is bound by trucking, like so many drivers are, (I know, I’ve been there), and you are considering a “hobby” of some sort, consider attaining your Private Pilot Certificate. Discover the joy of general aviation. You won’t regret it.

I am planning my first flight to Freeport in the Bahamas and will be flying a Piper Cherokee 180. I received my Private Pilot License in March 1985 and still have the same enthusiasm today as I had on my first flight. I have about 15 hours to go in attaining my commercial/instrument rating . . . always learning and always discovering new things. Although it is only about 246.5 nautical miles and will take roughly two hours and forty minutes to make it to Freeport, with approximately thirty-eight minutes of “ocean” flying . . . it’s going to be the best two hours and forty minutes of my life!

Don’t let trucking control your life. Whatever it takes . . . whatever hobby you choose . . . make it work for you. If you’ve never thought about flying, consider it now. Trust me . . . you’ll be glad you did.

01/23/2010

2010-01-24T08:34:00.001-08:00

01/23/2010

I got lazy. In fact extremely lazy for me. The alarm scream it's murderous cry at 3am just as I had instructed it to do. Sat up in my very cold truck, shut the alarm off and asked myself why. Why get up so damned early? It was Saturday after all and the traffic in Baltimore and Washington while heavy won't be as bad as it is in the touristy months. Having failed to get a satisfactory answer. I fired up the truck to generate some warmth left the alarm off and went back to sleep. That is the nice thing about weekend runs there is generally extra time to sleep in later. I slept in till 7:30am when my bio-clock (not sure that is a word) woke me up and said that was enough laziness.

I fired up the coffee maker. I really don't know how truckers that are addicted, as I am, to coffee survive without a coffee maker in their truck. Yea there are truck stops in lots of places, but you never know what kinda of cup of coffee you'll end up with. Some make it so strong it is a wonder that the Styrofoam cup doesn't break down much less your stomach lining. Others buy the cheapest crap they can get there hands on and call it coffee. Beside the quality you have to consider the time involved in stopping to get a cup that is at least 15 min for each cup. Yea you can buy them 2 at a time, but by the time you get to the second cup it is to cold to be truly good and that is assuming the first cup was of halfway descent quality. I don't know about you but 1 Cup of coffee does not start the day properly. One pot yes, but one cup no way. Alright I will get off my coffee soapbox.

After a pretrip on the truck and combing my hair it was time to roll. Last time I left here I zigged instead of zagging and ended up playing fifty rounds of "How the hell do I get out of here". Today not so much. Some intensive studying of Streets and Trips prior to departure and zip I was out of there. It was early enough on a Saturday morning in the Philly area that even the shoppers were not even out yet. A quick stop in Perryville. MD to top off the fuel tanks. I grabbed some morning fuel for the belly as well a quart of chocolate milk and two Bon Apetit danishes and I was on my way.

Two or three hours into the run today I get a message from extended services (our weekend/ night connection to the back office) " Harvey if you got the hours. The consignee will be receiving from 11pm tonight till 3pm Sunday afternoon.". Kool . I was originally going to pull up and hour or so short and run the rest Monday morning. Now this is a very nice place to deliver. The people are very nice and the facility is good as well. A truly rare combination. But if you pile 12-16 trucks into there all at once it would be a nightmare. So in order to avoid that I decided to run all the way in and get unloaded tonight. I figured there would still be 4-6 trucks an amount that this place can handle. I rolled in there at 6pm the lone truck. Pulled the tarp and chains and still had a couple of hours to wait. A few minutes before 11 another truck pulled in. Forty-five minutes later I was sending in my empty call and still no additional trucks.

I hadn't been keeping track of my miles. If I had I probably would have waited until Sunday to deliver. It seems that if you get above a 3000 miles Uncle Sam takes an undue interest in how much I make and decides to tax the additional miles to the point of why bother doing them. At any rate I finished the week with 3450 miles and about $100 in ancillary pay. Not to shabby a week considering last year at this time I was struggling to get 1500 miles.

A preplan would have been optimum at least I could have headed the way I need to go for Monday. I will get a 34 hour reset in so no worries about hours next week. I found a place to park and there is what looks like a mom and pop pizza joint here so that will be Sunday's dinner. Now All I have to do is get motivated and clean the interior of the truck. I'll work on that (getting motivated that is)

You have a good day

Bookerz out

Trucking - January 2010 (UK)

2010-01-24T08:33:00.001-08:00

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Trucking - January 2010 (UK)
English | 132 pages | PDF | 58.10 Mb
Trucking is Britain best-selling road-transport magazine. Appealing to all levels of the industry it offers a unique mix of news, features, commentary and truck road tests. Many of Trucking writers and photographers are professional truck drivers. Reader involvement is high, with a free legal advice service, competitions (we have given away everything from hot drink flasks to a 44-tonne truck) and a popular letters page. There humour, nostalgia and the classified advertisements are the UK's biggest haulier market place.

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You can check truck brakes,Now easily

2010-01-14T19:35:00.011-08:00

A in exspensive truck brake adjustement guide. 5 minutes and install it on your truck.

There is a great little tool that is on the market. Maybe a little pricey but it is worth having on your truck It can pay for itself, saving you, from one ticket.

Simply put, these easy to install brake adjuster indicators tell you within a minute wheather your brakes are out of Service.

What did you say: You do not need this because you have automatic self adjusting slacks. Well I hate to break the news to you but automatic slacks can fail and be out of adjustment like manuel slack adjusters.

Most drivers probably do not know that. The DOT FMCSA Regulations require vehicles to be equipped with brake adjustment indicators that conform to the requirements of Federal Commercial Vehicle Standard 121.

This indicator meets that requirement!and you can get a discount on ordering
for your fleet.

The DOT is not going away anytime soon, and neither is out of service violation. So why worry about out of service ticket when this little item can keep you out of trouble and safe at the same time.

This also gives you something to go by.If the DOT is ins question about your brake adjustment you can show them quickly the distance that the rod moves just by putting on the parking brake.

So it does not hurt to have a little gauge to keep you from an out of service ticket.
More importantly keeping you safe on the road

For More
information Click here Get a discount on this Brake Inspection Guide.
http://edgeolite.com/more-info.htm

Now watch this video below,

Remember Edgeolite is always trying to keep you informed with new device coming to market . That can make your job a little easier

I Also wanted to show you this "SELF ADJUSTING SLACK ADJUSTERS VIDEO"So oyu can understand how they work. THEY ARE NOT SUPPOSE TO BE ADJUSTED IF THE TOOL SAYS YOUR BRAKES ARE OUT OF ADJUSTMENT. CHANCES ARE THE AUTOMOTAIC SLACK ADJUSTERS ARE BAD.

Ontario CAL: TA truck stop/ gang stalking CA style

2010-01-14T19:35:00.009-08:00

Becuz there is little remote influence here guess what you get? You got it- lots of in person real time gang stalking from live human beings. Good old fashioned perpdom all over again. Its like the bad old days during the Bush administration when it was like this everywhere a TI went and you couldnt get the hell away from it.

The funny thing about that is most TIs who made it through that era are now so battle ready that it has little effect. I also believe that the extreme torturous kind of remote influence is something that is no longer used as it was during Bush and the height of the war. I havent tested this theory becuz I stay out of targeting 'hot spots' like Boston or all of MA, NY and St Louis MO...places I know the remote influence is so severe each and every time I return there, that the only goal of those places seems to be to kill the Target or get them institutionalized.
There is a major truck stop in Ontario CA. First of all you will not get a ride especially south or north as most people here are going east. No one will pick up hitchers here because hitchers here tend to be hijackers and many truckers have been robbed and killed giving rides to people. Plus your dealing with new school morons and the new generation of person who once they here a story about crime they parrot it all over the place to inject drama into thier veins Jerry Springer style. If truckers had this thin skin in the old days there wouldnt be any more truckers.
I am tired of people thinking that the world has changed so much..guess what geniuses? BAD THINGS HAPPENED IN THE OLD DAYS BUT THERE WAS NO NEWS SERVICE FAST ENOUGH OR DETAILED ENOUGH IN INFO TO TELL YOUR ISOLATED SORRY ASSES ABOUT IT, ALSO NO INFO HIGHWAY(INTERNET). This is why at heart I am an elitist that thinks there should be an IQ test to use the internet. So the public gets there hands on the www and realizes how life really works and all of a sudden the world is a bad place "in the day and age we live in". WTF? All the old school truckers just take one look at me and say "Yeah but you dont look dangerous no one is worried about you". What these guys have to understand is that most people nowadays get into trucking becuz ITS NOT AS HARD AS IT WAS IN THE OLD DAYS AND DOESNT TAKE THE INTUITON, BALLS, GRIT OR KNOW HOW IT DID YEARS AGO. Old timer travelers and truckers talk about travel just like it has always been "just scope em out".
It is smart and just easier to not give someone a ride if its an area truckers are getting hijacked out of but as one trucker said "alot of it (the way people think nowadays) is just paranoia". But induced paranoia can be so powerful it can change the minds of men (and wmn) to become thier reality.

If you are a targeted individual you have little choice but to travel from place to place and stay on the run. Its actually worse than being a fugitive due to the fact that you never will get caught and placed in jail and then its finally over. The only place this system wants you is in a pine box or institutionalized where you will most llikely be tortured further. This is why so many people do not want to believe targeted individuals stories and believe thier circumstances are mental illness or delusion.
They honestly believe that in the USA or any other democracy such a thing would not happen and they would be able to spot 'bad people' ..wouldnt they? Use your info highway and look up all the atrocities that have come before as well as human experimentation. If you lived during COINTELPRO or MKUltra when these things were overtly being done you probably wouldnt have known the people involved on sight UNLESS YOU WERE INVOLVED or trained to look for such things. Just becuz its talked about in a historical context as if we can now see it clearly does not mean it was allowed to be seen when is was occuring. That would make it a pretty sh*tty covert operation.

Anyway stay away from this truck stop unless you are with someone and leaving with them or meeting someone there. The cops are cool if they find out you wandered into the area and an uninformed traveler. The TA west is strict and wont let you back on the lot once your ride leaves. TA east is a bit more open to people walking on the lot if you get stuck with no ride you cant sit in overnight. The cops are the least of your worries here and dont seem to be at all into the gang stalking. They have that way that Cali cops have where they are pleasant as long as your story is honest and dont piss them off. They dont seem to be trying to prove anything like back east..I have heard bad things about LA but I stay the f*ck out of LA as my ex is there and I want all my detractors to understand that he does exist. Also LA , with 85000 homeless seems like a baaad place to be a vagrant. The cops will stop you and check you out if you look at all scruffy or houseless, like with a backpack but like I said they are cool about it.

The problem with this area is gang stalking...lots of it. There are truckers in on it, and it will become known that there is a targeted person around looking for a ride. Be prepared to find another way out of here as you will have to deal with smirks and other run of the mill bullshit to make you feel bad about your situation. Be prepared for the place to be covered with the ability to know where you are every moment- such as if ypou do find a trucker to hang with and you look out the small window of the sleeper, you will see a greybeard look right at you and point and other hand signals acknowledging that the system knows where you are. Then when you go inside the truck stop BE PREPARED FOR SUBTLE BUT EFFECTIVE GANG STALKING TACTICS that are frighteningly effective due to being tailored to your specific situation with attention to detail and the ability to not be detected by anyone but the Target.
This is gaslighting central and is one of those places that will drive YOU nuts while anyone you are with will not see a damn thing. We are talking about down to the music played on the radio in the bathroom and the timing of its airing. People coming into the bathroom with very subtle mind games that you have to be a seasoned TI to have lived through and now know how to sut out.
Bring earphones.

This says something about this truck stop. Most other truck stops are not this perp infultrated or not as obvious and do not pay attention to such detail. its like this area is infultrated and covered so well that any TI can be targeted with harassment tailored down to the finest detail. I wonder why this is...well, its a very Asian area, So Cal and this style reminds me of Oriental subtlety. An Asian did stop and stare me down and nod in gang stalker acknowledgement in the very beginning. It could be thier mafia runs this area I dont know.
I was informed that the Hells Angels allegedly runs this stop and I was never harassed before with my driver friends going through there but as a traveler with no ride perhaps the rules change I dont know.

There is a Greyhound station just north of there at 888 South Indian Hill Blvd Claremont, CA 909-624-4564. There are no homeless shelters and the cops will not drive you somewhere safe. If you have a bit of cash there is a motel there for 50 a night.

CA is notoriously paranoid about travelers anyway. I have never been able to navigate effectively through California...perhaps if you are from here you understand how it works. Strangely I have found the cops to be the least involved in gang stalking in an overt manner while in marked cars in uniform..but this is the land of out of work actors and people who live to be seen as 'gangsta' or dont know any other mentality.

I believe if the cops are involved it is done very well here via outsourcing or like in other cities undercovers do the harassment so no badges become tarnished with direct association.
Unlike Boston or NY city, the police in many parts of the US dont wish to be feared as psychopathic thugs who are equal to thier organized crime counterparts. But Boston, being Irish or Italian Catholic, Jewish and old money WASP, is the absolute height of neurosis and funcional insanity in the USA anyway.

As far as gang stalking goes I have yet to experience So Cal style. I was in Freemont during the beginning campaign when most gang stalking is very overt on a TI due to the fact that he person doesnt understand what is happening- that was in Freemont CA and it sucked believe me. A shelter and its residents were involved as well as the local church across the street that gave out food. This is where there was directed conversation about "the victim witness thing" and them not wanting to harbor me due to someone blaming them for helping me (still cant figure that out). This is also where that old man giving out food at the church across the street sat down with me for an interview to get food and instead used it to arrogantly f*ck with me, saying things like " Sooo, Rachel what are you doing in Freemont? Running from the FBI?" It was so great the next day when a white limo pulled into the church lot and then left after someone visited them, and upon our next meeting the same old man looked like he was pissing himself in adult diapers out of fear. Either I do indeed "have friends" as one bitch working at WOMENS LUNCH PLACE hissed in my face, or he was blowing the operation by being too overt and thus tipping off the TI, thus breaking the brainwashing 'spell'. I have seen people end up dead under mysterious and very fishy circumstances, for simply saying something that wakes the TI up our of the brainwash- something that is too close of a clue that allows the Target to see fully into the whole operation. DEAD like within days.

So anyway there you have it. Youll get messed with and you wont get a damn ride. So stay out of Ontario CAL USA if you are trying to get a ride.

Do you know a truck driver?

2010-01-14T19:35:00.007-08:00

My husband is a truck driver for a local lumber company. He has been with the company for 21 years. For the past several years he has mostly been on heavy equipment in the woods or building streets or on some sort of equipment job each day. Occasionally he will have to crawl back in a truck and haul logs if they are behind or lumber if gets behind. This company has so many trucks that it is hard for the few mechanics to keep up with the work that these trucks need to have done on them daily must less the big stuff that needs to be repaired.

Each time Danny crawls in one of these trucks he about strokes because of the stuff that is wrong with the vehicle. Until now any faulty equipment tickets, over weight tickets or any tickets that is not the drivers fault, the company had to pay the fine. As of July 2010 new federal laws are going into effect where any CDL holder who gets a ticket for anything...let me stress here anything, the driver and the company will have to pay the fine and points will be issued per violation. In July they will go back on each driver for 3 years and total up the points that he already has against him and if they have 30 points at that time they will lose their CDL. When they reach 30 points they will lose it then. It is estimated that 175,000 will lose their license in July alone. Danny has no tickets against him in the past 3 years thank goodness!

Can you imagine what the trickle down effect will be from this? I know that this will take some crappy drivers off the road but it will also take some really good drivers who are working for companies who can not or will not keep there equipment up to par. The clincher here is the fact that those points go with the driver when he leaves a company and then he can't get a job with another company either. The good drivers for the really big companies who do spend the time and money on taking care of their rigs will be OK but forget the little man again.

Also between now and July if a driver gets a new ticket the point value will triple!!!!! Danny has been trucking this week hauling pulp wood and of course he was stopped this morning by the DOT to weigh him. Thank goodness no ticket!!!!! Another driver was stopped today and was given a warning for a few different little things that he would ordinarily bring home a ticket for. This other driver will not have a job come July due to 2 different tie down violations and a couple speeding tickets with in the past 3 years anyway. Actually most of these drivers will be gone in July due to the points from overweight tickets alone. Truck drivers can't afford to pay for these tickets themselves and the companies can't afford to stay in business if they can't keep good drivers either. What is this world coming to? We need to drop to our knees and pray really hard for our country.

Please go to the CSA 2010 website and read all these stupid rules and let me know if you have someone that you are close to that this will effect.

Danny also has his own bulldozing business on the side and needs a CDL to be able to drive his own dump truck and move his equipment around.