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Phil Madsen's BlogLearning Something New Every Day |
Truck drivers Phil and Diane Madsen live, work and play on the road; transporting expedited and critical-shipment freight in their custom-built truck. Phil's blog is a blend of travelogue, brain dump and commentary on road-inspired topics.
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Blog entries are made so as not to reveal customer specifics or the current location of the truck. After the truck is gone from the area, entries are updated to include location information. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Monday, September 1, 2008. I learned today a bit about the nature of space, time and the universe. Learned by reading A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking.
I also learned how to remove graffiti from a truck. Learned by continuing to try products and techniques until we found one that worked.
Today is Labor Day. We are passing it in a retail area on the I-94 corridor between Chicago and Milwaukee, waiting to pick up freight on Tuesday.
The graffiti applied to our truck last Thursday is now gone. Acetone (fingernail polish remover) did the trick. But we tried a number of techniques before and have worked the paint to death. To restore the like-new look to the truck body, we will have to get some touch-up paint work done. That will happen when we go home later this month.
While waiting to get a haircut today, I wandered around a shopping mall and into a bookstore. Stephen Hawking's book, A Brief History of Time, caught my eye. I ended up buying it and am now reading it.
With very little education in the sciences, I am finding this book to be a pleasant read. Hawking presents early cosmologies (the study of the origin, history and nature of the universe) and concepts like scientific determinism and the Heisenberg uncertainty Principle in a remarkably clear fashion.
Learning that Hawking has sold millions of copies in 40 languages, A Brief History of Time seems to be an important book to read. Happily, it is enjoyable and interesting too; even for a science know-nothing like me. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Tuesday, September 2, 2008. I learned today, along with the rest of the world, that Hurricane Gustav declined in strength, spared New Orleans from another disaster, and struck other areas causing only minimal damage. Learned from news reports.
Having done Katrina disaster relief work three years ago (hauling disaster relief supplies and insurance company office equipment), we followed Gustav with more than a passing interest. It is good to see people evacuated well this time and that they will be able to return home.
We took the truck in for an oil change this morning and will pick up our load later today. After a long and less-than-wonderful weekend, it will feel good hauling freight again. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Wednesday, September 3, 2008. I learned today a bit about new communications equipment our carrier is putting in trucks. Learned from a customer who told me about it. The device will replace the Qualcomm unit we use now.
There are contractors in the fleet who try to learn every tidbit they can about the inner workings of our carrier and the latest about the people working at headquarters. There are others who keep their attention mostly on the road. Diane and I are probably somewhere between the two.
I knew a new device is coming to our truck but have not kept up on it. I figure it will come when it comes. Other people are testing it now. I don't want to worry about something that will probably change several times before it shows up in our truck, and I have long ago given up the desire to be the first on my block to have the latest and greatest gizmo. Still, it was interesting to hear what our customer had to day.
Last night's run from Chicago to Kansas City was uneventful. We delivered before sunrise and then drove to a Volvo dealer, first to sleep, and then to get a filter and have the air conditioner looked at. The air conditioner works but it does not seem quite as strong as it used to; best to get it checked before it fails.
While we were sleeping, a load offer came in by phone. We declined it and went back to sleep. Another soon followed and we left immediately for the pickup. It picked up about 40 miles west of Kansas City and will keep us rolling for two nights. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Thursday, September 4, 2008. I learned today more about the candidates running for president and vice president. Learned by listening to several hours or radio talk shows and commentary while driving.
Now that the two major-party presidential candidates have picked their running mates, the campaigns are coming more into focus; and I am starting to tune in to decide how to vote. Diane has been following politics more closely, reading about it almost every day in the newspaper. I have been less interested.
We are continuing our two-night run that began yesterday in Missouri. If we drive straight through, we will arrive at the Los Angeles-area delivery eight hours before people there show up for work. At that location, there is no good place to park and wait.
This is a load where one of us is required to be awake and attending the freight. We have been poking along at a fuel-saving pace but will still have to sit with the freight for several hours before going in to deliver. We will find a place to park in the country and then head into the city before rush hour starts. That will get us to the gate just as it opens Friday morning.
The ideal scenario would be to receive a load offer that picks up late Friday and keeps us running 2,000 to 3,000 miles over the weekend. One of us will be well-rested Friday morning and ready to drive. A late-Friday pickup would leave us both well-rested and give us time to do chores (groceries, trip to the Post Office, etc.).
We are not pre-dispatched, so, at this point, there is no telling what will happen. Stay tuned. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Friday, September 5, 2008. I learned today what the California Pacific Coast Highway (CA-1) looks like between El Segundo and Seal Beach (Los Angeles-area cities). Learned by driving it.
We delivered our load in El Segundo, California, early this morning, and drove next to a nearby shopping mall to park and sleep. Several hours later, we were awake but had no freight to haul. Orange County is one of the best freight areas in the nation for us. We decided to move there. Having time, we took the PCH instead of the freeways, just to see a new stretch of road. It was a ho-hum drive; lots of small shops, lots of traffic.
An hour or so later, we parked in another mall parking lot, this one in Orange, California. Still waiting for freight, I went in to see a movie. Diane stayed in the truck to read. The mall was fun. The movie was not. After the show, I called Diane to suggest we walk the mall together. She had already found her way in and met me with news of a call from dispatch.
A truck was in trouble. Dispatch wanted to know if we would be willing to help with a rescue. Beyond that, details were sketchy. Yes, we would help. People have helped us when we needed it. Knowing how much it means, we said yes. Our mall walk would have to wait.
The funny thing was, the truck we were going to help had taken a load that we declined three times. Dispatch kept raising the pay, but the load remained undesirable for pay and other reasons. But a driver needing help is different. So we said yes.
Details trickled in with additional phones calls from dispatch. A medical event of some sort put the driver in the hospital. He was a solo driver. Dispatch wanted us to take the freight and continue the run. Arrangements were being made to tow the truck.
When the dispatcher named the high-crime area to which she planned to have the truck towed and stored, I said we won't go there and told her why. I suggested that she have the truck towed to a FedEx terminal where we could safely be and transfer the freight; and where the hospitalized driver could know his truck would be safe.
To be fair, a dispatcher sitting in Ohio is not likely to know the streets of Los Angeles. I don't know them well either, but knew enough to stay out of the area in question. The dispatcher was grateful for my suggestion. We waited in our truck while she made more phone calls and arrangements. After a bit, the Qualcomm unit beeped with the address of our pickup. It was a a FedEx Freight terminal about 30 miles away.
We arrived a hour or so before the tow truck did. The dock manager at the terminal was eager to help. Dispatch had already talked to him and worked out the details. I told him several times, but don't think he fully appreciated, just how meaningful it is to receive safe haven and support from a man like him in a case like this.
We FedEx Custom Critical contractors own our trucks. They are not company trucks. We carry our most-important things in them; computers, phones, business records, ID's, permits, etc. You don't just walk away from a truck like you might if you were driving a company truck and your important stuff was at home.
Having your truck towed to an unknown location while you are unresponsive in a hospital is a nightmare scenario. It means the world to have help from dispatch and FedEx sister companies when something goes wrong and we might be otherwise alone.
Before the tow truck arrived, dispatch called and said the driver had been released from the hospital but was not answering his phone. Even if the driver showed up, we knew we would still have to take the freight. Until our safety department sorts out the details and decides he is OK to drive, they will not let the truck proceed under load. Now Friday night, that determination will not be made until Monday at the earliest.
The dock manager had the tow-truck driver drop the towed truck in a quiet area of the terminal yard. We parked next to it. He went into the building and returned with a forklift. With it and pallet jacks, we transferred the freight from one truck to another.
By the way, in a FedEx Freight terminal, where yard tractors are moving hundreds of trailers around all night long, and fifth-wheels crash into king pins when trucks connect to trailers, and empty trailers bang loudly over speed bumps, and road tractors roar in and out, and the backup alarms of a dozen forklifts are going beep, beep, beep, and Hispanic music blares loud enough to be heard over it all; "quiet" is a relative term.
People have no idea how much labor and equipment is involved moving the goods they use. Whatever you are touching right now (clothes, chair, computer, eyeglasses, fillings in your teeth, the food you are digesting), it is probably the case that that a number of people touched it first and worked third-shift hours to make it, process it and get it to you.
But I digress. With the freight transferred, I secured the towed truck and gave the keys to the dock manager. I then called dispatch to leave word for the other driver that his truck was secure and in a safe place.
Now after midnight, and not having to deliver our new freight until Monday, we asked if we could stay parked in the yard and sleep until morning. That was fine with the dock manager, and to sleep we went.
That's another skill you develop in expediting. You learn how to turn outside noise into white noise that helps you sleep. Some people play recordings of ocean waves to create a peaceful atmosphere in their bedroom. Freight terminals have a rhythm of their own, and you don't have to pay $0.99 to download it onto your iPod.
Attitude is everything! Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Saturday, September 6, 2008. We are on a load now that we picked up in the Los Angeles area early this morning (way early, about 1:00 a.m.). It is a short run that does not deliver until Monday. That gives me time to do some writing I need to do for the magazine and gives us time to work in a tourist event.
We are spending tonight and tomorrow night in an RV park. The freight is ordinary, meaning we do not need to provide security by staying with the truck at all times. It is not a refrigerated load, which means we don't have to run the reefer. If we did, we would not be able to stay at an RV park. The reefer would be too loud for the neighbors' liking.
In other words, as long as we deliver the freight on time Monday morning, we can park the truck in a known-safe place and do the town. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Sunday, September 7, 2008. I learned today that Diane and I should have bought tickets to the Blue Man Group show in Las Vegas two years ago when we had the chance to go. Learned by buying tickets today for $40.00 more.
We are in Las Vegas this weekend, camped in an RV park just off Las Vegas Boulevard (The Strip). Our Monday delivery is an hour away. Having time, we decided to take in a show.
Two years ago, we did the same. The Blue Man Group was playing then. Tickets started at $80.00. Thinking that a bit high, we chose a less expensive show instead — Menopause, The Musical — which we thoroughly enjoyed.
Today, with Tim Conway and Harvey Korman in mind, we paid top dollar for tickets to the Blue Man Group. Conway and Korman had done shows in Las Vegas. We sometimes saw the billboards when driving through. That would be a show to see, we thought; but never got the chance because the freight took us through town instead of to town when they were on. Sadly, Korman has passed away, and with him, our chance to see their show. The Blue Man Group will not be around forever. We saw the show today because today is all we have.
The Blue Man Group Theater is in The Venetian, which is walking distance from the campground. We arrived several hours early, leaving time to explore. Explore is the right word. The Venetian is a grand place with performers in the corridors and interesting sights throughout.
The shops range from high-end to common brands seen in shopping malls. The high end is very high end. A set of diamond cuff links caught my eye. I passed when I remembered my FedEx uniform has short sleeves. The cuff links would not be appropriate attire on the loading docks we frequent.
For dinner, we ate two hot dogs in the food court. There were plenty of fine dining options. While dressed for dinner, we were not in the mood. We were not in the mood to gamble either. Walking the Venetian at a leisurely pace and taking in the sights was enjoyable enough.
The Blue Man Group was great. It is a difficult show to explain so I won't try here, but we thoroughly enjoyed it. It felt good to do the tourist thing again. We have been getting too comfortable in the truck. It was good to get out and have some tourist fun.
The show kept us up a little later than we would normally stay when we had a Monday morning delivery. We will get about six hours of sleep instead of eight. That's OK. We are only an hour away from the delivery and, not being pre-dispatched, there will be time for a nap tomorrow if we feel the need. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Monday, September 8, 2008. I learned today that you can drive a store clerk nuts by finishing your transaction, walking away, and when it is too late for her to look, saying over your shoulder, "Thank you for not looking at my shoes." Learned by doing it.
Why did I do it? I have no idea. It was just something that came to me in the moment. Short of leaping over the counter, she did everything she could to eyeball my shoes but was left with only my smiling face to see.
The rescue load we picked up on Friday turned out to be the bad load we feared. It put us in a remote area with no freight to haul. We drove back to Las Vegas to have the truck air conditioning serviced. No load offers came while that work was done. With the business day drawing to a close, we decided to chase the freight and deadhead to Los Angeles, where the chances of getting a load are better.
A year ago, we might have stayed put; but we are getting irritated by our 2008 production. It is not as good as last year, and with fuel prices higher, more of the money we make goes into the tanks. Friends tell us of trucks that are grossing 50% more than us in some months. Last year, we were among the top producing teams in the fleet. This year, we feel barely above average.
We have only ourselves to blame. Diane's dental appointments have taken us out of service several times. We have gone home this year for a truck-driving contest, camping trip and family events. And we will be going home for a football game this month. We don't regret any of this, but the production hit these events cause is not fun to see.
You don't make money in this business by going home again and again. You make money by hauling freight. Yet here we are, going home again and again. (Grumble, grumble, grumble.)
Thank you for not looking at my shoes. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Tuesday, September 9, 2008. I learned today about a 21,000 gallon steel bi-level tank. Learned by seeing one close up and looking it up on the internet.
The decision we made last night to deadhead from Las Vegas to Los Angeles paid off. At 1:00 a.m. this morning, we received and accepted a load offer. It picked up at 8:00 a.m., 30 miles from where we were parked to sleep, and delivered to a refinery in the Bay Area (San Francisco, California).
While driving deep into the refinery complex, we saw a bunch of those tanks lined up. Every now and then, we see one being towed on the road. When hooked to a tractor they form the trailer part of a big rig. Until today, we did not know what those strange trailers were. Now we do.
We have learned a lot about industry since we beginning this work. There is stuff going on that help makes the world go 'round, but that we never would have thought of before. Some of the many industrial loads we have hauled include:
• Today's run which delivered 5,000 lbs of corrosive chemicals to a refinery.
• Heavy screens used in rock crushers, picked up in 
Pennsylvania and delivered to a limestone quarry in Michigan. (Photo shows one of the trucks we shared the dusty roads with while there. Its tires are nearly as tall as our whole truck!)
• A small electric motor picked up in Chicago and delivered to a grocery store distribution center in Houston, where it would replace a broken motor and get a conveyor belt moving again.
• A gear box picked up in Pennsylvania and delivered to a seaport in Florida, where it would replace a defective gear box in a huge crane being used in a construction project.
• A water pump picked up in Southern California and delivered to a gold mine in Oregon, nine miles deep in a forest.
• Two large pipe flanges picked up in Nevada and delivered to a company in Arizona that makes large (think massive) pipes.
• Two large boxes of plastic pellets picked up in Chicago and delivered to a plastics factory in Michigan that makes car parts.
• A computer picked up somewhere I do not recall and delivered to a wind farm in California. 
We get into places tourists don't and some of these places are fascinating. In plants where signs say "Authorized Personnel Only," we are sometimes the authorized personnel. People are often happy to show off their facilities and talk about their work. From them, we have received a number of interesting mini-tours and talks.
At the moment, we are sitting in San Jose, but have no freight to haul. This is normally a good freight center, but here we sit. It looks like we will be spending the night. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Wednesday, September 10, 2008. I learned today that financial firms and even movie companies are having a harder time raising capital than ever before. Learned by reading the news and watching investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. become a shadow of its former self.
The company is in trouble and announced radical action today to stop the bleeding. But the real story, I believe, is that Lehman could not raise needed capital.
No one rose to bail them out; not the sovereign wealth funds, not the hedge funds, not a white knight investor group, not a competing company, not anyone. To survive, Lehman had to spin off its garbage investments by forming a new company and dumping its troubled paper into shareholder laps, and by selling majority interest in one of Lehman's better and income-producing holdings.
A major Wall Street company, needing capital, could not raise capital and could not find a savior to bail them out. Across the country, this news hammered a big mortgage bank — Seattle-based Washington Mutual — which is also in trouble. Investors are figuring out that access to capital is not just tightening and going up in price, but becoming flat-out unavailable.
Important companies that need capital to survive can't raise capital. Shareholders responded today by driving Washington Mutual shares down 45.67%. The shares are down 93% from year-ago levels.
Three days ago, the government bailed out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. While that addressed some immediate problems, it did not turn things around, nor will it.
I believe more bad news is ahead. Despite a number of actions, the Federal Reserve Bank and the U.S. Treasury Department have been unable to stop the decline in housing or relieve the global credit crunch.
The FDIC has already seized a number of banks this year. I believe more banks will fail, to the point where the FDIC will be drained of assets and have to be propped up with a taxpayer-funded cash infusion.
I also believe the U.S. economy is in a major downward spiral that is feeding on itself. We have a way to go before the excesses of easy credit are wrung out of the system. I don't know how long it will take, but a turnaround will happen. It will happen sometime after American consumers come to believe that if you want to buy something you actually have to pay for it.
The easy credit festival was fun while it lasted but now the party is over. If you have not already done so, it is time to get out of debt and live within your means.
OK, back to the road.
We ended up spending the night in San Jose, California. We woke up this morning well rested and ready to go. There is an unusually high number of trucks in the area also waiting for freight.
That is how it goes. Sometimes there are no trucks in an area where you would usually expect to see some; sometimes there is a normal number of trucks, and sometimes a high number. Here today, the number is high; which means we may have to wait a while for freight. It also means we may end up taking a load that is less than desirable.
Our carrier's method of offering available freight to trucks in an area is complex but fair. A number of factors go into the formula including dwell time (the number of hours a truck has been in the area waiting for freight). If all other things are equal, the truck with the most dwell time will have priority over trucks with less. But all other things are seldom equal and a host of other considerations enter in. The main point is the system is fair. It works the same for all trucks.
Today, there are two trucks ahead of us in this express center (our carrier's term for a region from which freight is dispatched). There are three other express centers within a one-hour drive and a number of trucks waiting in each of them.
Anything can happen. A great load — like a cross-country run that pays $2.50 a mile — may be offered to another truck that is eligible to haul it, and that team may not see the offer because they were in the shower and forgot to shift their status from in the truck to on the phone. We might get the load instead.
Or a marginal load may be offered to and seen by a dozen trucks, all of which turn it down, but we decide to take it because it is just good enough and it gets us moving and out from under all those under trucks. Or, the freight itself may be slow today and all the trucks will still be sitting in their express centers tomorrow. As I said, anything can happen.
Edit later in the day:
We completed a short run this afternoon that kept us in the area. We are now back waiting for freight. This time, we have what our carrier calls "less than 75" status. When you do a run of less than 75 miles, you are considered ahead of other trucks for the next load. So, we made a little money today and our position in the cue is improved. But ... we are not running. We are waiting for freight. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Thursday, September 11, 2008. I learned today that our friend Dean Barkley won the Independence Party primary in Minnesota and is now one of three major-party candidates for U.S. Senate. Learned by reading it in the Wall Street Journal.
This is exciting! The Democratic and Republican candidates are in a dead heat right now and a bunch of voters don't like either one. The latest polls showed Barkley at 8% with the other two splitting the difference. At this time in 1998, Jesse Ventura was in the same spot. He broke into double digits in October and went on to win his race for governor. Ventura is backing Barkley. This interesting and competitive race will be in the national news soon.
We found a nice place to park on the street last night and woke up this morning ready to haul freight. After a couple hours of waiting, a great load offer came in that we accepted. It picks up tomorrow morning and will keep us running over the weekend.
An hour after we accepted the load, it canceled. So here we sit, waiting for freight once again. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Friday, September 12, 2008. I learned today yet another nuance about our carrier's dispatch system. Learned by calling our carrier to determine why we are seeing loads dispatched to other trucks but not seeing the load offers sent to our truck.
We woke up this morning in the same place we went to sleep. For most people, that is a good thing. For people like Diane and me, who are looking for freight to haul, it is not. It would have been nice to get a midnight call to move immediately on someone's freight emergency. But no shipper had an emergency that we heard about, so here we sit.
With our carrier, drivers that are waiting for freight can call an automated phone system and learn some of what is going on with dispatch and other trucks. This morning, two trucks were dispatched out of the express center we are in, but we did not see the load offers ourselves. We should have seen them, we thought, since we had less-than-75 status, which puts us at the head of the cue.
Our Contractor Coordinator looked at the load offers and the trucks that accepted them. The explanation she gave made sense. I said the other day that our dispatch system is complex but fair. I still believe that. Learning a new aspect of the system helped me understand why the other trucks got the loads and we did not see the offer. So, I don't feel cheated but we are still restless.
This one way our carrier loses drivers to other carriers. When you sit waiting for freight, and sit, and sit, and sit; your thoughts and emotions run. If you are not truly thoughtful, and not diligent in gathering facts before jumping to conclusions, you can talk yourself out of a good job.
For non-truckers reading this, the turnover rate among drivers is unbelievably high. It is not uncommon for a large trucking company to have a driver turnover rate over 100% a year. It is easy for a driver to move from one carrier to another, and carrier recruiters are always there to help them along.
A driver can be sitting unhappy in his truck for a few days, knowing he can be driving for another carrier in a few more. The grass may or may not be greener on the other side of the fence, but the fence is always close.
It would be very easy to go to anger instead of inquiry when you are first in line and other trucks are getting the freight. Instead of calling your carrier for an explanation, it is perhaps easier to call other carrier recruiters for relief. If you are angry, frustrated or disappointed with your carrier, it is very easy to imagine greener grass.
What some drivers miss, I believe, is that the whole thing is going on inside your head. Shippers are shipping, dispatch is dispatching, trucks are moving, and you are sitting. The way you see it, the way you interpret it, the way you form the story and tell it to yourself makes all the difference in the world.
Before you decide that things outside your head are this way or that, take a careful look inside to make sure you are thinking straight. We have seen it dozens of times where a driver will decide that things are one way, and then talk to others, not to test the new belief, but to prove himself or herself right. This business is as much of a head game as it is anything else.
So, having gathered information and self-examined my head, here is the story I have decided to believe and tell.
It is not looking good today. Nothing is on the board to be dispatched out of San Jose. We may end up writing this week off, deadheading to a larger express center and starting fresh next week. There are some great tourist opportunities here but we will pass on those to stay close to the truck. If a new load bubbles up, we want to be ready for it.
Most freight ships during normal business hours. Our plan is to stay put until close of business today and hope something bubbles up. If it does not, we will probably deadhead out of here, and take our less-than-75 status with us to a larger express center. Maybe something will bubble up there over the weekend.
It is not all bad, waiting for freight. The weather is fantastic. Diane and I took a walk and treated ourselves to ice cream cones and later a meal at Johnny Rockets . One of the reasons we got into this business was to spend time together.
There are drivers out there that refer to their wives as "The Wife" or "The Old Ball and Chain." I am not among them. It felt good today to take a walk with my wife Diane and do nothing more than enjoy the weather, new sights and ice cream cones. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Saturday, September 15, 2008. I learned today about flan, a desert dish I had not known about before. Learned when encouraged by new friends we met on the road to try it.
Finding no freight in San Jose, California, we headed to Los Angeles. Diane had not driven the truck in a couple days and wanted to drive. Reluctantly, I yielded the driver's seat. We both enjoy driving and sometimes argue — in a nice way — about who gets to drive next. We have put over 300,000 miles on the truck. 150,000 miles each is not enough to get driving out of our system. It really is fun to drive "Little Putt Putt" around; more fun still to drive it under load.
It was great day for a drive. The skies were sunny. Traffic was light (by California standards). We had seen all the scenery on the route several times before, but it is always interesting to see it again. The garlic fields near Gilroy, California, treated us to their usual odor. Diane listened to music up front. I plinked away on the computer in the back. Along the way, we stopped to do a generator oil change, showers, service the toilet and pick up groceries. We thought about buying fresh sweet corn but Diane's braces made that a bad idea. She will be happy to see the braces go when that day comes.
Next on the list was a truck wash. We stopped in Castaic, California to get it but found it closed. Diane parked on the street and I went online to find another truck wash. A woman came to the truck and struck up a conversation with Diane. She and her husband are an expediting team like us. Without knowing it, we had parked in front of their sidewalk table at a small Mexican restaurant. They were there visiting with another team. We joined them and had a great visit. We would have talked and laughed the night away had midnight not come first.
Wanting to get to Los Angeles to be better positioned for freight, we continued on. About 90 minutes later, we were parked and asleep soon after that. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Sunday, September 15, 2008. I learned today, along with everyone else following the events, that one major Wall Street firm is going bankrupt and another is getting taken over. Learned from news reports.
The firms are Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch. I talked about Lehman on September 10 and won't repeat myself here, except to say I believe more bad news is ahead. The Lehman bankruptcy and Merrill Lynch takeover does not make the toxic paper go away that drug the firms down.
Wall Street is loathe to value that paper at its true value, which is pretty close to zero. Until these losses are truly and fully recognized, more firms and banks will struggle as they try to exist on unsustainable accounting fictions. Reality is marching through fictional Wall Street balance sheets like a bull in a china shop, and there is more destruction to come.
No freight was offered today. We spent the day at the beach and returned to one of our favorite parking spots to sleep. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Monday, September 15, 2008. I learned today that someone who wrote a piece for Expedite NOW a while ago — My Million Mile Journey by John Schlimner— is still getting phone calls from readers. Learned on a telephone call with him. The magazine is distributed by mail and on truck stop racks — 48,000 copies. It disappears quickly off the racks. As the magazine's editor, it is nice to see the magazine and its companion web site are reaching people like they are.
We got a nice load today that takes us out of the Los Angeles area. Normally, that would be the beginning of a good week. But now, we are fixing to do something totally unproductive. We are going to work our way home for a football game. The Green Bay Packers play the Dallas Cowboys at Green Bay on Sunday, and we will be there!
We plan to park the truck at home and drive a rental car to Green Bay (we don't own a car). Everything we do from now through the end of the week will be done with getting home in mind.
This is where directional dispatch would be a nice thing to have, but our carrier has no such thing; and for good reason. If it was possible for us to call in and say we wanted to haul freight only toward Minnesota, to accommodate us, our carrier would have to take loads away from other drivers. There is nothing fair or right about that. We understand why our carrier does not have directional dispatch and do not expect help getting home. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Tuesday, September 16, 2008. I learned today about our carrier's Home Run program. As I mentioned above, we are going home for a football game this weekend. It would have been nice to be closer to home than Arizona but here we are.
I talked to our carrier about a program we have never used. It enables us to find freight from sources other than our carrier. Our carrier will book the load and that freight will take us home. I have been studying the details, talking to a couple freight brokers I know and looking at some internet load boards where freight can be found.
The program sounds good on the surface but finding good-paying freight for a straight truck (not a semi with a 53 foot trailer) is not something you do without learning the system more. Normally, we would just go out of service and drive home on our own dime. I'm trying this Home Run program mostly out of curiosity and to learn more about how freight moves. The most I expect is to find a load that will pay for the fuel that gets us home.
The load we were dispatched on yesterday was actually a two-stop pickup. One stop was in the Mojave desert in California, the other was in Las Vegas. We made those pickups today and drove overnight to Tucson, Arizona for the Wednesday morning delivery.
Arriving several hours early, we parked near the delivery on the shipper's property. It was a quiet place and the weather was great. We opened the windows to let the cool desert air flow through. We listened to the coyotes howl as we drifted off to sleep. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Wednesday, September 17, 2008. I learned today more about the Home Run program described above. Learned by finding and booking a load through an outside broker (different than receiving load offers from dispatchers at our carrier).
We are done hauling "real" freight for a while. We delivered a load in Tucson, Arizona this morning and started working our way home. Our main reason for going is to attend a Green Bay Packers game in Green Bay, Wisconsin. We will park the truck at home, rent a car, go to the game, and return. While home, we will take care of a few things like dental appointments, bank business, and hopefully visit some friends we have not seen in a long time.
Our day was spent ambling from Tucson to our next pickup. Today's highlights include a truck wash and a root beer float. I have said it before. The simple pleasures really are the best. Diane driving on the open road. Me enjoying a root beer float on a nice, sunny day. That's hard to beat. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Thursday, September 18, 2008. I learned today how custom hot tubs are made. I also learned a little about the hot tub industry. Learned by receiving an impromptu tour of a hot tub plant in Texas, where we picked one up.
That's our day today. We arrived in the morning at the plant, picked up a hot tub, and have been driving since.
I'm feeling glum today. I have been listening to the financial news almost non-stop for the last few days. While it is sad to see folks lose their jobs on Wall Street, they are reaping what they sewed. But now, some government "leaders" are talking about creating a government agency to take on the toxic paper that lies behind the mortgage crisis so the companies that created the paper can be free of it while the taxpayers are left holding the bag.
The Wall Streeters enjoyed the profits on the upside of the mortgage story, and now, we taxpayers are supposed to suffer the losses on the down side. It is a repugnant proposal. It sickens me that it is being seriously proposed and considered.
Financially, Diane and I are OK. We saw this coming months ago and took steps then to preserve our invested assets. But having worked 11 years in the securities industry, including the Black Monday stock market crash of 1987, I know these are not easy days for anyone in the securities business.
I'm thinking about the financial planners and securities brokers that deal directly with ordinary people. I am thinking about our country, the people who are watching their retirement investments decline, the people who got into mortgages they never should have had and are now losing their houses, and a bunch of others.
It all leaves me feeling glum. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Friday, September 19, 2008. I learned today that Democrats and Republicans in Washington, D.C. are putting together a massive bailout package intended to stabilize financial markets and stem the housing crisis. Learned from news reports.
I see little chance that this will work. These are the same leaders that were assuring us just recently that the economy was fundamentally sound. Now they are taking action to save the markets from the biggest threats since the the Great Depression. They say action is needed to bring liquidity to the credit markets because banks have stopped lending money to each other.
Well, HELLOOOOOOOO???? If banks don't trust each other, why should we trust them? Let the people who caused the crisis suffer from it. All a bailout plan does is shift the losses onto the taxpayers and insures the pain will be felt there in the future instead of on Wall Street today.
Fobbing bad debts onto the government does not make the bad debts go away. It just changes who must suffer the loss. If this notion becomes law, the taxpayers will not profit as plan promoters say. Think about it. If someone was going to profit from this mortgage paper, why would the banks and financial institutions be so keen to get rid of it?
Why not bail out the citizens who took out bad loans in the first place? Consider Joe Sixpack. He bought a house he could not afford and then leveraged it to buy a boat, an SUV, and a trailer full of fuel-consuming toys. Now that the markets have turned against him, he can no longer make payments and lenders are coming to his door wanting their collateral.
The banks say they need a bailout so they can return to their usual ways of supporting the economy. Joe Sixpack can make the same argument. His fiscal decisions are no less responsible than those made by the banks that leveraged their loans. Since we are bailing people out, why not bail out Joe Sixpack instead of the banks?
After delivering Joe Sixpack's hot tub in Plymouth, Minnesota, this afternoon (Thank you Joe for stimulating the economy as you did, you are a true patriot!), we brought the truck to Augsburg College in Minneapolis. I recently learned that a small group of people there regularly read this blog. I thought they might enjoy seeing the truck, and they did.
I love Augsburg College. It is where I went to school after serving three years in the U.S. Army. Those were some of the best years of my life. More importantly, the education Augsburg provides emphasizes leadership, contribution and ethics; character traits much needed in today's turbulent world. For that reason, Diane and I make financial contributions to the college. It is a bonus that it feels like home when we visit the campus. The people there were great 30 years ago, as they are today.
Speaking of going home, that is where we are now. Tomorrow, we will rest and prepare for a short trip. Sunday morning, we will drive a rental car to Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin, to attend a Packers game.
We have mixed feelings about going out of service and driving from Tucson, Arizona, to Minnesota, and then to Green Bay and back, to attend a football game. If not for the game, we would be out hauling freight. But tickets are not easily found and having grown up in Wisconsin, I have never been to a Packers game. We weighed the costs and benefits and made the decision. Go Packers!
(Don't tell Diane I said that. She grew up in Minnesota and is a Vikings fan. Counting her, I think they have six or seven now.)
One final word about the economy. Why is it that whatever the problem, the solution is for people to spend more money? When terrorists struck on 9-11, the government told people to go shopping as a way to support the country. Today, some the crisis on Wall Street must be solved ... so people can keep spending money. If people don't' spend money, the economy can't grow. And if the economy can't grow, people won't spend money.
Whatever happened to the idea of managing your money well and living within your means? So what if markets freeze up for a while and people have to work their way out of debt. In the long run, would that be so bad? Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Saturday, September 20, 2008. I learned today that our photo is in the August issue of Overdrive magazine (in the print edition, not online). Learned by finding and reading it in the stack of magazines that awaits us every time we come home.
There are a number of trucking industry publications out there and we have been written up or quoted in several. Overdrive is is one of the majors. The reporter interviewed us months ago for a story she was doing on team drivers. I had forgotten all about it until I saw the magazine today.
I also learned about the Garmin Nuvi 750, a GPS device. It was in the mail stack too. I bought it off eBay a while ago and am getting my hands on it for the first time. People who have these devices in their trucks rave about them. Now that prices have come down, we bought one. I am spending some time today figuring out this new toy. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Sunday, September 21, 2008. I learned today how to use two new devices; a Garmin GPS and an Olympus digital camera. Learned by studying them. I also learned that there is nothing on earth like a home game at Lambeau Field, where the Green Bay Packers Play. Learned by attending one for the first time.
We woke up at home early this morning, left the truck in the driveway, and headed to Green Bay, Wisconsin, in a rental car, to attend a Green Bay Packers game. It is a pleasant six-hour drive through Northern Wisconsin. Diane drove. I studied the device manuals and played with the buttons.
I have a relative who has season tickets in a low row on the 20 yard line. It was his invitation that got us to the game. Per his instructions, we arrived four hours early to tailgate with his group.
As Lambeau field came into view, traffic jammed to a standstill. We could not believe our eyes. The game would not start until 7:00 p.m. Every direction we looked, thousands of people were tailgating and it looked like many of them had been set up since noon.
We drove past the field to a shopping center a mile or two away and parked. As arranged, my uncle and aunt met us there and took us to where they always park. It was in the front yard of a house a few blocks from the field. Anyone who has been to the Minnesota State fair knows this scene. Homeowners near the event open their front yards to car parking and charge for the privilege.
At Packer games, it is different. They don't just open their yards for parking, they are open for tailgating too. Not only that, they open their homes and bathrooms. I could not believe it. When it came time to go, I — a perfect stranger to the homeowners — walked into their empty house to use the bathroom. They were busy outside waving flags at the end of their driveway. This went on up and down the streets as far as we could see. The whole neighborhood was one big tailgate and house party.
When game time approached, we walked to the stadium. I don't have the words to describe the mood of the crowd. Happy and excited come to mind, only expand it to 71,000 people mostly dressed in green and gold.
The Dallas Cowboys outplayed the Packers through most of the game. The defeat disappointed and quieted the Packer fans late in the game. Not being an active football fan, I was less disappointed. I left the stadium impressed more by the fans than the team. I have never seen anything like this and was very glad we made the effort to get from Tucson, Arizona, to Green Bay, Wisconsin, for the game.
The next time someone sees me in a Packer shirt or hat and yells, "Go Packers!" I will pay more attention. There is more to being a Packer fan than I ever knew. I don't know what to call it — a bond, community, team spirit — I don't know. Whatever it is, it is real, it runs deep and it is fun! Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Monday, September 23, 2008. I learned today that Green Bay Packer Season tickets are hard to come by, to say the least. Learned by asking about them.
We woke up this morning in a Shawano, Wisconsin hotel, where we stayed after attending last night's Green Bay Packer game. Driving back across Wisconsin to get home gave me time to think about what I experienced at my first-ever Packer game. I was smiling the whole way. I am still at a loss for words to explain it. Whatever it was, it was fun and I want more!
I knew there was a waiting list for season tickets. Thinking ahead to our planned retirement, the idea took to get on the season ticket list. We could have great fun taking friends to the games as my uncle and aunt took us. So I called my uncle to tell him that I was still enjoying the event and to ask how to get season tickets.
He said, "You have to wait a long time. How old are you?"
"54," I answered.
He said, "I don't want to discourage you, but I don't think you are going to make it."
People who have the tickets rarely let them go. When they die, they will them to their families.
My uncle was not kidding. If I get on the list at age 54, I may not live long enough to get season tickets. There are 60,000 - 80,000 people in line ahead of me. It seems I am not the only one who has discovered that Green Bay Packer games are fun, and there is nothing else like them on the planet.
On the way home, we took a detour to walk the lot in Northwestern Wisconsin where we plan to build a home some day. Out of curiosity, we visited our realtor's office there to see what else was listed. We ended up making an offer on a lot that we will buy as an investment.
That is part of the plan. We are putting money into land in this area. The idea is to sell the land when we retire and use the proceeds to build a paid-for house.
The land purchase was an event today. But filling my mind and heart are the Green Bay Packers and everything and everyone associated with them. It still leaves me not knowing what to think or say ... absolutely amazing!
We arrived home a bit before sundown and went to bed soon after. It has been an eventful couple of days; fun too! Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Tuesday, September 23, 2008. I learned today a new application for the church hymn "Crown Him With Many Crowns." Learned while sitting in the dentist's chair. The hymn came to mind as she explained the future dental work I will need.
The rest of the day we spent focused on no particular thing. We did a little business work, completed land purchase forms (see yesterday's entry, our offer was accepted), watched a little TV and otherwise puttered around. Diane drove back to town later in the day for a haircut. I made blog entries.
We are scheduled to go back in service Thursday morning. Tomorrow I am taking the truck in for maintenance. Right now, I don't feel much like going back to work. I have not been home long enough to get the itch to get back on the road. I'd like a day or two to myself before we go back out.
That is the major disadvantage of renting shared living space from a relative instead of renting or owning a place of our own. You don't get true time to yourself when you are home. And at home, there is always stuff to do that you do not do out on the road. A joke among expediters is that you have to get back out on the road to rest up. There is more than a little truth in that.
When we go back out, we will stay out until Christmas. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Wednesday, September 24, 2008. No entry today. We are not ready to go back into service and are taking today off. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Thursday, September 25, 2008. I learned today (and yesterday) developing details and arguments for and against the $700 billion bailout proposal now in play in Washington. Learned by following news reports along with millions of other Americans and investors worldwide.
Diane and I are following this with great interest. I contacted our two U.S. Senators and U.S. Representative to share our views and urge them to oppose the bailout. From what we hear, we are not alone in this sentiment. How much that matters to our elected officials remains to be seen.
We went back in service today and are waiting at home for freight that will take us back out on the road. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Friday, September 26, 2008. I learned today details about other carriers to which we could lease our truck. Learned by calling other carriers and talking with them.
While waiting at home today for freight to haul, we received and declined three load offers before accepting a fourth. The fourth is a good load that picks up on Monday and gives more time at home. Being home when you know you will be rolling under a good load on Monday is much better than being home but not knowing where or when you will go next.
The messages of impending doom and $700 billion bailouts coming out of Washington have us worried. We have enjoyed five fantastic years in this business. It is looking more and more like we are about to find out what a serious recession — or worse — will look like.
Researching other carriers and other ways to haul freight is a precautionary measure. If it becomes necessary to make a move, we want to be ready. So far, nothing in our research says the grass is greener anywhere else. While we have a great relationship with our present carrier (FedEx Custom Critical), it makes sense to keep our eyes open and to stay on our toes.
No carrier we know does expediting better than FedEx Custom Critical. We like the people we work with and are proud to be part of the FedEx team that delivers the "Purple Promise" every day. Financially, we know of nowhere else that we could do better in this truck. Still, researching our options feels like the right thing to do. More research will be done when follow-up calls are made on Monday. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Saturday, September 27, 2008. I learned today how to change the moving parts in a toilet tank. Learned by seeing it done on public TV.
You know how it is, don't you? Sometimes life gets so exciting you can hardly stand it.
We are not doing much of anything today; just being home, puttering at this and that. We are keeping a close eye on bailout developments in Washington.
Actually, I am fully enjoying this day. The weather is fantastic. The truck is parked on a concrete slab at home. I have easy access to electricity and a garden hose. The puttering is being done with the truck. Now that we are dispatched on a Monday pickup, I can take time to catch up on the truck (an ongoing process).
Tool boxes and tool kits are being emptied, cleaned and repacked. Seats and carpets are being shampooed. Cords are being unwound, wiped down, and recoiled. Like I said ... puttering.
It is fun too. There is no pressure. I have all the time I need. I don't have to worry about someone stealing my tools if I leave them lay and walk to the other side of the truck. I don't have to keep one eye open for a truck that may back in next to ours to park and run me over by mistake.
I spent parts of the day outside with the truck. Diane spent some time inside cooking dishes we don't enjoy on the road. She also spent some time out and about running errands. She likes to cook and is as happy spending hours puttering in the kitchen as I am puttering with the truck.
Puttering ... it's good for what ails ya. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Sunday, September 27. 2008. I learned today that Luke wrote both the books of Luke and Acts in the New Testament. Learned by listening to the sermon in church.
I probably knew that years ago. In those years I was a student in a church college and seminary and worked as a youth director and camp counselor. To complete course assignments, I was translating the Bible into English from its original Hebrew and Greek. I participated in or led hundreds of Bible studies, had a library of books about the Bible, and read the book cover-to-cover several times.
But if I knew then that Luke wrote the books of Luke and Acts, I forgot, and learned it anew today. It bothered me hearing such a basic biblical fact and realizing that I either did not know it before, or knew it and forgot. It has been many years since I did systematic, daily, devotional Bible study. It shows.
The pastor left us with a great image and invitation; getting up in the morning and saying, "Good morning, God! What are we going to do today?"
In the business we are in, Diane and I often don't know where we are going to wake up or what we are going to do today. Waking up with God on my mind and asking, "What are we going to do today?" is a more fulfilling and uplifting experience than waking up and asking myself, "What am I going to do today?"
Don't you hate it when your pastor is right? Asking God, "What are we going to do today?" can change your life. But if you like your life the way it is, that can be a problem. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Monday, September 29, 2008. I learned today, along with the rest of the world, that the proposed $700 billion bailout bill failed in the U.S. House of Representatives. Learned from news reports.
We picked up a load near home today and are running it overnight to New Jersey. When not focused on that, I have been fixated on the bailout news. I was glad to see the bill fail. It is preposterous to suggest that that bill is the one and only solution to be considered and it must be considered now.
It does not bother me that the markets plunged in response. On Black Monday in October, 1987, I was working as a securities broker and financial planner. In one day, the stock market fell 23%. Today, it fell 7%. Big deal. The market came back after 1987 and will come back again.
Investors who have quality investments and balanced portfolios will do fine. The individuals and companies that abandoned common sense and went off the deep end with exotic products are now reaping what they sewed. As for the impending doom of frozen credit that our leaders are proclaiming, I don't believe it. Sure, credit may freeze, but no one wants that to happen for any length of time. If the government would butt out, the markets would work their way out of the mess they worked their way into. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Tuesday, September, 30, 2008. I learned today that my U.S. Representative voted for yesterday's bailout bill. Learned by checking his voting record.
We picked up a load in Minnesota today and delivered it in New Jersey today. It was 1,600 lbs. of pig tissue delivered to a lab. Northern New Jersey is bustling with pharmaceutical companies and companies that support them. We have picked up from and delivered to them many times.
While driving through Pennsylvania, we saw a strange sight. Driving west to east on I-80, the state greeted us with near-peak fall colors. Even on an overcast day, it was a pleasant sight. When we reached the town of Snow Shoe and went over the top of the mountains, it was like someone threw a switch and turned the fall colors off. The leaves on the east side of the mountains were all green.
We have driven I-80 through Pennsylvania many times. Some people get bored driving the same roads over and over again. We don't. There is always something new to see if you look for it. The new sight today was near-peak fall colors that switched instantly to full green when we crested a mountain.
There is plenty to see and think about when you are behind the wheel; geology, meteorology, biology, sociology, astronomy and more.
On the way to today's delivery, we were pre-dispatched on a load that pickups up and delivers tomorrow. While moving toward that pickup to spend the night, we got pre-dispatched on yet another load that we will pick up and deliver on Thursday. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Blog entries are made so as not to reveal customer specifics or the current location of the truck. After the truck has left the area, entries are updated to include location information. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page