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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 when we are under load. Entries are updated to include location information after we leave the area. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Thursday, January 1, 2009 (New Year's Day). I learned today more about stock index options trading. Learned by studying.
We are stuck at home with a broke down truck and passing time until Monday when a technician will arrive and hopefully get it running. See my December 29 and December 30 blog posts for details. This down time gives us spare time. I am using it to learn more about trading.
I have four books going now, all about trading. I'll read one until I tire of it and switch to another. Having been studying this for some time, I am no longer running into new words and concepts. I am now reading for depth and comprehension. That means reading the same book two or three times, cross-checking it with others and thinking deeply about the information the books present.
When I am done with these four books there will be four more and probably 40 more in the years ahead. Because the markets constantly change, learning never stops among successful traders.
This reading, combined with practice trading, where my results are improving, is moving me closer to trading again with real money.
The more I learn, the more I realize just how much of an entry-level person I am in this field. Having come to understand perfectly why 90% of the people who try trading become net losers (including me), my focus is on the 10% that become net long-term winners.
Very few of them claim to have secrets or inside advantages that set them apart. They talk instead about doing your homework, trading with discipline, having a plan, managing your risk, not taking profits too soon; using various trading systems, indicators, oscillators and techniques; and other such things.
These are skills I believe I can develop. Improvements in my practice trading results reinforce this belief. Truck down time like we are now having provides the major chunks of time it takes to develop trading skills. The expected slow economy and slow freight in 2009 will likely provide more chunks of free time to invest in this endeavor.
I like the sound of that ... free time. The time is free and I can invest it to build skills in a money-making endeavor.
That's it for today. Back to the books. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Friday, January 2, 2008. I learned today more about stock index options trading. Learned by studying.
Yesterday I wrote, "I like the sound of that ... free time. The time is free and I can invest it to build skills in a money-making endeavor." I woke up this morning thinking that I do not like the sound of that, "... build skills in a money-making endeavor."
Presented with a block of free time, I choose to use it to cloister myself with books and build money-making skills (with some mindless TV-watching mixed in). How shallow is that?
Why do I not choose instead to volunteer my time at a community center, make fundraising calls for a charitable organization, read the Bible, study other religions to better understand my own, stand on the street and tell people about Jesus, dream up surprises to make my wife feel special, set up social events with friends, or do any of the dozens, hundreds or even thousands of other noble things I could list?
Skill development is a way of bettering yourself. What is the better way to better yourself? Is it better to give my free time to others or is it better to develop money-making skills?
It does not matter what you are doing or why. There is always something different that is better to do, a better way to do what you are doing now, and the sense that whatever you are doing, you are not doing it enough or well enough.
I woke up with the thought in my head but am not going down that road. It does not matter what may or may not be better to do. Stock index options trading has captured my imagination and I am doomed to pursue it.
In 1992, I became politically involved for the first time. Soon after, the idea of a third political party captured my imagination. For the next 10 years I poured everything I had into that endeavor with some success (see my biography).
In 2003, living life on the road as expediters captured my imagination (Diane's too). We jumped in, poured everything we had into the business, succeeded, and are still going strong.
Now it's trading. As with politics, expediting and certain other pursuits, the burning desire has taken root. Whatever else is going on, my mind keeps coming back to trading. When free time occurs, it tends to get filled with trading or the study of it. Things that I could otherwise do or think about are fading into the background as trading rises to the fore.
I did not leave my values and ethics behind when I entered politics and expediting. Nor did I cease to live a life life that is at least somewhat balanced. So too it will be with trading.
Trader Ed Seykota says, "It is a happy circumstance that when nature gives us true burning desires, she also gives us the means to satisfy them." I believe it. It has proven true in previous endeavors. I am on my way.
That does not mean working our way out of expediting. Trading can be done in the truck. We love living and working on the road as expediters and intend to stay with it.
Regarding the truck and our present down time, the situation is unchanged. We are waiting for the technician to arrive on Monday and hope he will be able to get the truck running then. See my December 29 and December 30 blog posts for details.
This afternoon I drove to the Volvo dealership that will be sending the technician. I wanted to meet and talk to him first. I did, judged him to be competent, and kept the Monday appointment in place. It will cost around $400 for the service call.
We are betting he can get the truck running. If we lose, we will be out the $400 and the time we spent waiting for him to arrive. If we win, we will save the greater amount of money we will have to spend to get the truck out of our iced-in driveway and towed to the dealer. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Saturday, January 3, 2008. I learned today more about stock index options trading and our 2008 expediting business and money management results. Learned by studying trading, and working with Diane on our 2008 income tax return.
Today is an easy day at home. Alternate an hour of study with an hour of bookkeeping, leave the TV off, minimize time on the internet, exercise for breaks (See: 11/30/08 blog post, "... the blubber is back."). While working, drink green tea and enjoy some peaceful Irish music supplied by our iPod and wireless headphones. Tonight I will probably watch the NFL football game and read books on trading during muted game breaks. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Sunday, January 4, 2008. Except for a trip to church and the time of the football game, today is the same as yesterday ... and also except the planned work outs did not happen.
The work-out thing goes to desire, will power, mental focus and other such things. I'm not going to go into any of that now. I just did not want to leave my readers with a false report. I planned to work out and did not. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Monday, January 5, 2008.
8:30 a.m. CST: I am reading a book on market and trader psychology while waiting for the technician to arrive and hopefully get the truck started. See my December 29 and December 30 blog posts for truck breakdown details.
A call to the dealer this morning confirmed that the technician showed up for work today and the appointment is still on. Before calling, I tried to start the truck. It acted the same as it has for several days.
The outside temperature is 8 °F, up from 0 °F at sunrise. Winds are calm. The sky is clear. I have heaters going in the truck to warm it for the technician and coffee and cocoa ready to serve.
12:59 p.m. CST: The truck is running. The technician found and fixed the problem.
The tube that leads from the turbo to the charge air cooler was full of solid ice. The ice formed from condensation. Hot air coming out of the engine is routed to the cooler. In the winter weather with the truck idling, water in the air turned to ice in the tube and blocked engine air flow. This probably happened when I idled the truck in the driveway a few days ago.
The technician caught the clue as he cranked the engine while troubleshooting the electronics. He noticed the rubber tube on the cold (outbound) side of the charge air cooler collapsed as he cranked the engine. Aware of a service bulletin that had been issued about this, he went to the tube on the hot side and found the problem. It was a good catch on his part.
He removed the rubber portion of the tube. It was filled end to end with solid ice. I took it in the house and ran hot water through it to clear the ice. He replaced the tube and the job was done.
The company that sent a tow truck on December 30, did not charge us for the truck. The cost of the breakdown is now reduced to the time lost and the road service call. We will know the amount when the technician returns to the shop and the service manager calculates the amount. The labor rate is $106 per hour.
Our gamble paid off. Instead of towing the truck to the shop, we betted the technician could get the truck running. Had the truck been towed and left indoors for a while before being looked at, the ice would have melted, the truck would have started right up and no one would have known why.
We will tie up loose ends at home today and be back in service and ready to roll tomorrow morning.
My newly-learned item for the day is nomenclature pertaining to a truck's charge air system. It was learned from the technician who educated me. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Tuesday, January 6, 2008. I learned today that the 2009 outlook for the trucking industry is grim. Learned from recent news reports.
Being preoccupied with stock index options trading, it has been a few weeks since I took a good look at the trucking industry news. People who forecast such things have been pushing their projected recovery dates further into the future. It seems that after some of them did so, it became OK for all of them to do the same. A consensus has formed and people believe it as much as they believe anything else they hold to be true. Whether they will turn out to be right or not is a different question. That they hold a grim outlook is clear.
So it falls to Diane and me to make strategic and tactical business decisions in this environment. As always, to consider is the evidence we see, what other people are saying, what other people are doing, and more. I have discussed our approach to the recession in previous blog posts. It remains the same. What is new is the recovery projections are being pushed further into the future by a now near-unanimous body of experts.
We got off to an unusual start this year with a broke down truck. It is fixed and we are now under load. The offer came in just a couple hours after we went back in service. The load ties the truck up until early next week but pays well enough to make it worth the time. Actually, it pays very well and we are going to have one of the best weeks we have had in some time.
Better still, we will deliver in Southern California where the weather is warm. When we arrive, I can take off my pants. People will assume my long underwear is a leotard when they see me dancing happily in the sun. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Wednesday, January 7, 2009. I learned today that trying to save money by buying an inexpensive electric shaver is a waste. Learned by trying it.
The household goods we carry in the truck do not last as long as they do at home. They are not designed to withstand the rigors of the road.
My electric shaver gave up the ghost today so I went to the store to replace it. Mindful of the recession and wanting to hoard cash, I did what millions of Americans are doing. I traded down. Instead of looking at the top-shelf shavers that sold for over $100, I shopped the bottom shelf and picked one priced at $40.
Before the recession, I was fond of saying that when you own next to nothing (referencing our property-free lifestyle), you can afford the best of everything. While I can afford a top-shelf shaver, the recession has led me to think twice before spending money. I also find myself wincing at the money we spent when we were building and equipping our truck.
Don't get me wrong. We were not stupid. We did not buy more truck than we could afford. In fact, we paid the thing off 23 months after buying it. What's different now is our attitude toward spending money. These days, we are less willing to part with our cash.
After taking a cheap shaver home from the store and using it to paint a painful rash onto my face, "the best of everything" still makes sense. It went back to the store and was replaced with a better and higher-priced shaver that does the job.
There is price and there is value. In good times or bad, value trumps price.
The shaver exchange was our last stop as we left home in Minnesota to pick up our next load. The pickup is in Manitoba Canada, where it is cold. The delivery is in Southern California, where it is warm. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Thursday, January 8, 2009. I learned today what North Dakota sugar beet processing plants look like. Learned by driving by several of them on our way into Manitoba, Canada.
The route included I-29 going north from Fargo to the Canadian border. This was a new stretch of road for us and one of the very few remaining stretches of the interstate highway system we have not yet covered.
If you open an atlas and look at the interstate highways, you will not find a one or two-digit numbered freeway that we have not covered end-to-end. The exceptions are small sections that lead to border crossings, like I-29 between Fargo and the Canadian border, the last few miles of I-95 in Maine before it terminates at the Canadian border and the last few miles of I-5 in California before it ends at the Mexican border.
We got into this business partly to see the country. When we set that goal, we had no idea just how much of it we would see and how well we would get to know the many cities and states we have. It was fun to add this stretch of I-29 to our traveled roads collection.
For someone who dislikes winter like I do, going to Manitoba in January makes about as much sense as going to Minnesota in December. But there are reasons to do both so here we are ... waiting overnight for freight where the outside temp will be -20 °F when we wake up in the morning.
The good news is, we are going to a warm location to deliver the load. It will be nice to be someplace where the weather will not kill you if you go into it unprotected.
In our old white-collar life, getting stranded in winter weather was easily resolved by calling a taxi, tow truck, friend or family member for transportation and simply parking the car or having it towed. Being apart from the car was no big deal because we carried little of value in it.
Living on the road in a truck is a different matter. We are unlikely to be near family or friends when we break down. We might be hours away from help or even in a different country, where the liability laws are different, 911 is not the first number to call for help and the people may not speak English. Or, to be more respectful, the truck might break down where we do not speak the native language.
In summer or winter, leaving a broke-down truck is undesirable, since nearly everything we own is in it. The truck is at once our place of employment, home, RV and first source of food, water, clothing and shelter. If the truck is allowed to freeze in the winter, our food, water, soft drinks, personal care products, and sleeper plumbing would become a big mess and expensive to replace or repair.
We carry survival food, water and clothing, and have plans for dealing with just about any kind of breakdown, stranding, health crisis or other emergency one can think of. Still, even though we are toasty warm in the sleeper, it is a lot easier to spend the night in a truck parked where the outside temp is 70 above instead of 20 below.
In the summer the what-if questions fade to the back of your mind. In sub-zero winter temperatures, the same questions keep you awake in bed. But, hey, it is -60 °F in Alaska so who are we to complain? Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Friday January 9, 2009. I learned today how to convert Celsius temperature readings to Fahrenheit. Learned by using the formula in our road atlas.
I have never had reason to do that before and did not plan on doing it today, but when our shipper told us the morning low was -33 Celsius, curiosity drove me to the formula.
We woke up this morning in Manitoba, Canada, to -23 °F according to the infrared thermometer we carry. The shipper's reported -33 °C equals -27 °F. Whatever the exact temperature was, it was cold.
The generator performed well once we got settled in for the night. Getting settled meant getting up three separate times after going to bed to (1) start the reefer, (2) check parking lot traffic and (3) move the truck.
Today's load is a reefer load. We went to bed with the reefer turned off to save fuel. There was no need to run it with no freight on board, but it ate at us that the outside temperature would plunge from 0 °F to -20 °F overnight. To make sure the reefer would start in the morning, I got up to start it and let it run overnight. Better that than to risk a service failure and the loss of a high-paying load.
We next got up next to check parking lot traffic. It was Diane's turn then. We heard snow plows working the lot. That made no sense since the lot was clear and it was not snowing. We had parked near a pile of snow that was higher than the truck and four times longer. Diane saw huge front-end loaders bringing snow from neighboring lots and piling it near us.
They were doing a good job of staying clear of the truck but after laying in bed for a while and listening to them come and go, the worry of an accident overpowered the desire to stay cozy. I got up, got dressed, left the warm sleeper for the cold cab, moved the truck away from the snow pile and returned to bed ... this time to stay.
We did not run the truck engine overnight. There was no need. We fueled yesterday with winter blend fuel and I added fuel treatment just to be sure. The truck is equipped with heaters that warm the engine coolant and oil. The pre-heater warms engine intake air on mornings like these. The generator keeps the batteries fully charged. When the time came, the truck started as easily as it does on a summer day.
The pickup went well and we headed south, eager to reach warmer weather. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Saturday, January 10, 2009. I learned today that Daimler Trucks North America plans to lay off 2,300 workers in Freightliner plants in Oregon and North Carolina, because of declining truck sales. Learned from news reports.
These are massive cuts. They include shutting down one plant almost completely. In another plant 1,290 jobs will be cut, leaving 700.
Daimler owns the Freightliner, Western Star and Sterling truck brands. All of those trucks are seen in expediter applications. Daimler announced a month or so ago that it was eliminating the Sterling brand altogether. Now come these layoffs, on top of other layoffs previously announced.
Other heavy-duty truck manufacturers include Volvo (includes Mack) and Pacar (includes Peterbilt and Kenworth). All have announced major production cuts because of declining (plunging) truck sales.
At the carrier and owner-operator level, we are seeing companies and individual expediters go out of business at an increasing rate. Accelerating the trend is the temporary closing of General Motors, Chrysler and other manufacturing facilities. These plants normally ship and receive a lot of freight. When they are closed as a cost cutting measure, the freight stops.
Diane and I haul almost no automotive freight. But when thousands of trucks that do find themselves with no freight to haul, they start looking around. With not enough freight to go around, and truckers and carriers desperate to hang on, price competition grows, profits decline and truckers drop like flies.
We were visiting with some freight brokers the other day. They said a company they service used to do 1,800 loads per year. Now it is closed for two months as a cost cutting measure. That is an instant and surprise switch from 150 loads a month to zero that will continue for 60 days. A trucker who relied on that freight will be left with no money for two months unless he or she finds other freight. That is becoming increasingly difficult because the freight simply ain't there to haul. The recession is cutting deeper and wider and there is no end in sight.
OK. That's enough about the economy. Diane and I can only haul one load at a time and only need 100 or so loads a year to keep us going strong. We have our first load of 2009 on the truck as I write this and it is spectacular! It pays enough to meet our expenses for the entire month. It is a long run and it feels great to be on the road again.
When we went home for Christmas, we ended up staying longer than planned because of a truck breakdown. I can't tell you how good it feels to be back out. Driving a truck on the open road is just plain fun. Working a job we love is fun too. Several times on this trip I looked at Diane and said, "Welcome home." She nodded in agreement each time.
Deep inside both of us, a happy glow is on (think E.T.'s heart light). We are on the road and we are home.
We are unable to deliver until Monday morning when the consignee opens. The shipper is paying us well to stay with the freight. We are not pre-dispatched on another load but will be in a good express center when we get this freight off the truck. Better still, the Southern California weather is warm! A day at the beach or a walk in the park may lie ahead.
We picked up this freight in -23 °F weather in Manitoba, Canada. When the run is complete, we will have moved 2,500 miles in the truck, four days on the calendar, several thousand dollars ahead in gross revenue, and 100 degrees on the thermometer. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Sunday, January 11, 2009. I learned today a 100 year view of the century-long war between Arabs and Jews. Learned by reading it in the Economist magazine.
This is one of several items I read on a variety of topics while passing time today. We are parked at a truck stop in Southern California, about an hour away from our Monday morning, delivery. I did some writing too. See: Living a Property-free Life. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Monday, January 12, 2009. I learned today that the National Safety Council wants to ban all cell phone use by drivers. Learned from news reports.
I strongly agree with the National Safety Council on this. Hand-held or hands-free, cell phone use (and text messaging) while driving is dangerous.
I know this from the growing body of research that proves it. I know it from personal experience (which is why I stay off the phone when driving). I know it from seeing and dealing with cell-phone-distracted motorists (including professional truck drivers) on the road. See: ABC News article
As I write this, we are at a truck stop in Barstow, California. It is 3: 46 a.m. local time. Diane is asleep and I am staying up with the freight we are being paid to watch. We will deliver it later this morning. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Tuesday, January 13, 2009. I learned today how to read a sight glass on a reefer. Learned from the technician who showed me.
For those who do not know, a reefer is a heating and refrigeration unit commonly found on trucks. It is used to keep freight at specified temperatures when being transported. Examples include ink that cannot freeze in the winter, or produce that must remain cool in the summer, or laboratory equipment or products that must be kept at room temperature.
While on our most recent run, we noticed the reefer seemed to be working harder than usual to maintain temperature. The run went fine and temperature was maintained, but it seemed wise to get the reefer checked. A developing refrigerant leak was found and easily repaired.
More on my mind today is the death of my elderly Aunt. We are 2,000 miles from home so Diane will stay with the truck while I fly home for the funeral. We are going nowhere tomorrow as any load would take us away from the airport and Thursday's flight out. We will be out of service until Saturday night but that is OK. This is not a funeral I want to miss.
I could write at great length and in glowing terms about my Aunt. In the interests of family privacy, I will pass on that. Just know that she was a special gift and blessing to all in our family. Her health failed late in life and she is now at peace. She will be long remembered and dearly missed.
Why do we live? What is our purpose? What should we do?
This woman had no struggle with such questions. She knew the answers. When she got up each morning, it was to help others in whatever ways presented themselves. She lived a sacrificial life, putting other people's needs ahead of her own.
Why do we live? What is our purpose? What should we do?
Diane and I have answers to these questions, but when someone as great and selfless as my Aunt passes, it gives one pause to think again. Goals like seeing the country, out-performing business competitors and achieving a financially-secure retirement don't seem like much when I reflect on the life my Aunt lived and the many sacrificial good works she did.
I can dress things up by talking about transporting medicine, serving customers, safely sharing the road with others, bringing our equipment and skills into disaster relief work, contributing a portion of our earnings and doing the occasional good work. But where is the sacrifice?
My Aunt was a sacrificial giver. As I prepare to attend her funeral, I find myself wondering, what kind of a giver am I? Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Wednesday, January 14, 2008. I learned today about the regulations that govern airline travelers. Learned from Diane.
I have not traveled by plane in many years. Diane has done so several times in recent months as she flew home for dentist visits (braces). In essence, she is running a security check on me before I fly home tomorrow. That will help me get through without incident.
I also learned today something strange about successful traders. The BBC reported that "Scientists at Cambridge University found that financial traders whose ring fingers are longer than their index fingers make the most money." and, "Over 20 months those traders with longer ring fingers made 11 times more money than those with the shortest ring fingers relative to their index fingers."
I'm not a floor trader like those in the study, but I did check. Sure enough, my ring fingers are longer than my index fingers. How about that? I have the fingers of a successful trader! Maybe some of that full-time floor-trader finger magic will carry over to my part-time day trading activities.
Actually, this sounds more like quackery than science to me. Fingers of any length mean nothing without a willingness to learn what successful traders know and do what they do. I will stay on task and study successful traders, and leave it to the quacks to study trader fingers.
See Phrenology for another example of quackery that once passed for science. People took head lumps as seriously then as people take finger size today. Times change but quackery lives forever.
We are hauling no freight today but are instead waiting for my flight to leave tomorrow. While waiting, our carrier called and said I have been selected for a random drug test and must report immediately to a nearby clinic. We are tested in such fashion every now and then. The cost of the test is passed on to us.
So, let's see ... a $350 reefer repair yesterday, a drug test today, estimated taxes due tomorrow, the expense of a flight home and back and a rental car to use while home, groceries purchased yesterday. The money flows out, all by itself, it seems. There is no chance of any flowing in until I return to the truck Saturday night.
I am not complaining. I just mention this for the readers who are thinking about getting into expediting. It is essential for success to have reserve funds on hand before getting into this business. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
January 15, 2009 to January 17, 2009. I am away from my computer while flying home to attend a funeral. Diane is staying with the truck until I return. Blogging will resume on Sunday, January 18.
Sunday, January 18, 2009. I learned today that Women In Trucking’s President, Ellen Voie, has earned her Class A Commercial Driver’s License. Learned from news reports in industry publications.
I have re-joined Diane in the truck in California after flying home to Minnesota for a funeral. When I went online and caught up on the news, I saw the item about Ellen Voie. It jumped out because Diane and I met her at the Expedite Expo last summer.
Ms. Voie is one of those many folks we meet in our travels who leave us with a positive impression and a desire to become better acquainted. But in this job, getting better acquainted with new people is not easily done because the freight takes you someplace else, and hauling freight is work you do mostly alone. There is no office, or water cooler to gather around, or cafeteria in which you can discuss Sunday's ball game or the weekend's events with your boss or co-workers.
That same reality has a positive flip side that I appreciated as I traveled home and back by air. Wow! Talk about being immersed in a sea of humanity. The peaceful, quiet life we live in the truck was something I wanted to quickly return to as I did the air travel thing.
When the return flight landed, I got off the plane and found my way to the large shuttle bus that goes to the rental car area. From there I would carry my bag and walk a few blocks out of the airport and onto a street where Diane could come by with the truck and pick me up.
I entered the rear door of the bus and took a seat half way between the front and rear. Two other men were on the bus, both on their cell phones. As she pulled away from the terminal, the Hispanic driver looked over her shoulder said to me, "Hard day?" I laughed and said, "You can tell that from all the way up there?" She could. I was whooped.
The funeral and family time were more emotional than I expected. Grieving drains your energy. Even with a good night's sleep I was tired when it was time to fly back to the truck. My dear Aunt Laura, our dear Aunt Laura, is gone. As I write this and feel it welling up inside, I can tell there will be more grieving ahead.
I have not flown in ten years. Standing in long lines with hundreds of people to clear security was something new and something else. At truck stops, busy terminals and other places where truckers interact, you see all kinds. The masses range from impressive professionals who are a joy to watch, to drivers that leave you wondering how they managed to live as long as they have acting the way they do. So too with people at airports.
In a truck, you can drive away or find a place to park and relax. In an office or airport, you are trapped and doomed to interact with everyone else, whether you want to or not.
Most amazing of all the people I saw were the TSA officers who spent their day neck-deep and elbow-to-elbow in a sea of travelers; many of whom arrive unprepared, think the rules do not apply to them, become easily lost, leave items behind, and perform a host of other tricks that delay and irritate others. Maybe I caught them early in their shifts but it surprised me that these officers were calm and on task. Several were even cheery and smiled as they interacted with the people and moved them along.
At the funeral, I commented to several people that they don't make people any more that are as kind, giving and good-hearted as Aunt Laura. I soon found out I was wrong. On the Houston to California leg of my flight, I was seated next to a woman from Texas who was flying to California to live with and take care of her daughter who is dying of skin a rare and untreatable form of cancer. After we visited a bit and she closed her eyes to nap, I realized I was wrong. The world is full of kind, giving and good-hearted people.
When you are a traveler who cannot be trusted to get on a plane without being searched; or a trucker who cannot park long in many places without being run off by the cops; or someone on the road who must always keep your guard up against armed robbers, thieves, rapists, beggars, hustlers and price-gouging service providers; it is an easy thing to lose sight of. But the fact remains that the world is full of kind, giving and good-hearted people.
To prove it, all you have to do is look around with your eyes and mind open to seeing the good. Try it. Look at the next 10 people you see and think of the good in them. It will soothe your soul and you will feel your best self rise.
When our plane stopped at the gate and people crowed the aisle to disembark, I asked my seatmate if I could walk her to where she was going. She was glad for the offer as she did not know her way to baggage claim where her son-in-law would meet her. It would have been easy enough for her to follow the signs but she seemed glad for the escort.
I thought nothing of it. Baggage claim was on the way to ground transportation where I was gong. But as I walked with her, a warm feeling bubbled up inside. It became an honor to walk this woman through the airport. She was leaving her home to take care of a dying loved-one. She was my Aunt Laura. She was every other kind, giving and good-hearted older woman who graces the Earth; and it was my privilege honor her and be at her service in this small way.
It feels good to be back in the truck with Diane and where things feel back to normal. People who travel in their work often talk about how good it feels to sleep in their own bed. I feel the same way. It's just that I had to fly from home to California and then meet up with a truck to do it.
Before Diane took me to the airport on Thursday, we received a great load offer. The North Carolina-bound load would have picked up nearby on Friday and paid over $6,000. I thought briefly about skipping the funeral to take the load but that was not really an option. As great as the load offer was, there will be others. There is only one funeral.
Now it is Sunday and we are doing what we were doing on Thursday; passing time in California as we wait for freight. There is a larger than usual number of trucks ahead of us. We may be here a while. That bothers me a little, but I am thrilled to be in this fantastic Southern California weather in January. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Monday, January 19, 2009. I learned today that the trucking business is slow ... really slow. Learned by reading various reports and seeing it on the ground.
This is not new news. What is new is it just keeps getting slower and slower. All eyes are on Barack Obama's upcoming nomination (January 20), and hope is in the air. This is a historic moment for the country and it lifts our spirits too. But when we turn our eyes from Washington to a truck stop parking lot in California, we get somber fast.
A bunch of expediter trucks are sitting at the truck stop we went to yesterday. We went there to top off our fuel and take showers. Staying up past midnight, I reviewed three truck driver internet forums and some industry publications to take an industry snapshot. Conclusion: Business is slow and shows no sign of picking up anytime soon. In fact, it may become slower still.
Diane and I are OK. Sadly, for a lot of good folks, these months of slow freight and declining rates will mean bankruptcy and the end of their expediting careers. It may mean bankruptcy for the State of California too. The news out here is the state is now issuing IOUs instead of paying tax refunds, making welfare payments and funding certain other obligations. Their unemployment benefit funds will be drained to zero in a matter of days.
Economic forces are bigger than any government or new president. Until this recession runs its course, anything the government does to ease the pain may help some people but will amount to little more than window dressing in the grand scheme of things. The main event is not the bailout or the inauguration or yet another stimulus package. The main event is the recession itself, the end of which is nowhere in sight.
Slow freight means more spare time and the opportunity to choose how to spend it. Rather than letting my spare time slip through my fingers, I am investing it in learning a new skill.
Regular readers know that I have been studying and practicing stock index options day trading for some time now. My views have broadened to include futures trading, which unlike stock index options trading, can be done 24 hours a day. That is a plus given the nights I sometimes spend awake, sitting in the cab when we have certain kinds of freight on board.
To eliminate the need to repeat myself in this blog when talking about trading, I wrote a piece called Day Trading that explains the activity.
I close today mentioning the historic moment. Today is Martin Luther King Day. Tomorrow, the American people will inaugurate our first black president. My thoughts are with the civil rights activists, some of whom were killed, beaten and jailed as they fought for their cause. Many of them lived to see this day and I can only imagine that it must be for them a moment of boundless joy. Given their sacrifices and lifelong works, a middle-class white guy like me offering congratulations from afar seems trite, but I offer them just the same. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Tuesday, January 20, 2009. I learned today, along with the rest of the world, what Barack Obama said in his inauguration speech. Learned by listening to it on the radio.
This was one of those historic "where were you when ..." days that people will talk about for a long time. We were in the truck in Southern California, dispatched on a load that we will pick up tomorrow.
Today was a good day. We got some business paperwork done, did some trading, installed a set of Slushbusters on the truck, exercised a little, ate right, visited with two friends by telephone and enjoyed the weather.
Having worked for ten years in the past as a strident activist for government and political reform I am encouraged by what I heard Obama say. More importantly, I am encouraged by what he is doing. According to the BBC today, "In one of the administration's first moves, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel asked all federal agencies and departments to stop any pending regulations pending a review."
Federal agencies and departments exist to regulate. It is in their DNA to produce rules that justify their existence, exercise their power and grow themselves into a larger entity. Today, they were told by a new president to stop the rulemaking.
Stop it! It is a simple command that gets people's attention, especially when it comes from the boss. And it was issued to ALL federal agencies and departments at once.
As truck drivers, Diane and I have twisted and turned under a host of new and then newer regulations that have affected how we work, sleep, cross the U.S./Canadian border, earn and spend our money, equip our truck and more. "Stop it!" are welcome words to hear coming out of the White House. Is it possible that common sense might be returned to rulemaking?
I can't say the quality of government and the political process will improve under Obama's leadership but the content of his speech and this early act gives me hope that it will. Goodness knows, it can't get much worse. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Wednesday, January 21, 2008. I learned today that Western Star truck manufacturing will be moved from Portland, Oregon to Mexico. Learned by reading a trucking magazine.
This is old news and I sort of knew it already, but I had not paid close attention to the story when it first came out. I did today because where was not much else to do but read it as I sat in a waiting area, waiting for the shipper to come and bring me into the warehouse to load today's freight.
We drove a Western Star truck back when we were driving fleet owner trucks. It is known as a premium brand and we found it to be a well-built truck. Long ago, the trucks were hand-built by skilled craftsmen, which contributes to the premium reputation. I do not expect the product quality to continue and would not be surprised to see the brand dropped by its parent company sometime soon.
Today's load was a short run that paid over $500, which sounds pretty good until you look at the fact that the last time freight was on our truck was nine days ago (January 12). Some of that was attributable to the time I took off to attend a funeral. And had I not take that time off, we would have run a $6,000 load to North Carolina.
Today's run gave us less-than-75 status (a short run less than 75 miles long), which puts us ahead of other trucks that are in the area waiting for freight. Three other trucks have the same status and there are a bunch more stacked up behind them. The number of trucks coming into this area is not unusual. What is unusual is the lack of freight to get them back out.
That leaves us waiting for freight, continuing to enjoy this Southern California weather and putting our spare time to productive use.
Some of it will be used to get the truck washed when we get close to a truck wash. On today's run, we found ourselves on the freeway in rush-hour traffic behind a poorly-tuned old truck. It was spewing oily soot into the air that covered our windshield and all front-facing surfaces of the truck. The windshield washer helped but a film remained. It took some work to clean the windows after we delivered.
The soot-spewing truck turned our $500 run into a $500 run minus the $40-$60 cost of a truck wash that we would not otherwise need. Just another day at the office, I guess. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Thursday, January 22, 2008. I learned today how to re-name the favorite places kept in our Garmin Nuvi 750 GPS device. Learned by doing it.
We spent the night in a retail area in Southern California. It was a quiet place where we felt safe and were not bothered by the police or security guards. Such places are designated as favorites in our new GPS unit. That makes it easy to remember and return to them if we are in the area again.
As the list of favorites grows, naming them in a way that makes them easy to spot on a list makes sense. Playing around with the GPS unit today, I figured out how to do that.
Other than that, time will be spent today on trading, business paperwork, truck puttering (cleaning, minor maintenance), and pleasure reading. Knowing where we will be tomorrow, we arranged to have our mail FedEx'ed from home to here.
Soon after waking this morning, we received and accepted a load offer. It is a good one that picks up tomorrow and takes us cross country over the weekend. It means that when we deliver on Monday, January 26, we will have completed three runs month-to-date (a very low number), made less money than we do in most months, but also remain able to pay all monthly expenses and put some money in the bank. Our expenses are low because of the property-free life we live.
There is a chance that runs in the last five days of January will lift our January revenue to our monthly average, but as slow as the freight has been, the chance is small.
A couple days ago, I met an expediter acquaintance at a truck stop who has Native American blood in his veins. That meeting prompted me to proofread and publish a story I began over two years ago. I did that today and also added to my trading piece, having put additional thought into it. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Friday, January 23, 2009. I learned today that the State of California is out of CVSA inspection stickers. Learned from the custodian at a California scale (weigh station) who told me.
Our carrier requires that our truck have a DOT inspection every six months. In need of one, we pulled into a scale in California today to ask for a voluntary. That is different than when they pull you in whether you want to be inspected or not.
We were so ready. The morning's pretrip inspection was done with extra care and everything was found to be working. We had time before today's pickup to get the truck inspected. But when we approached the scale, it was closed. The scale on the other side of the freeway was open so we took the next exit and headed back toward it.
While that scale was open, the inspection lanes were closed. The custodian said the inspectors were all at lunch. I asked if we could wait in a bay until they returned. He said yes. A few minutes later, he knocked on our door and said the inspectors would all be in a meeting for at least an hour and that no CVSA stickers are available. Someone forgot to order them. We decided to leave and get the truck inspected elsewhere.
While not required, the stickers are a nice-to-have item. They go on your windshield and signal other scale cops nationwide that the truck recently passed an inspection. Some truckers prize these stickers. There will be a lot of California scale cops hearing a lot of grumbling from a lot of truckers (not exactly something new) because of one person's bureaucratic error. The inspections are still valid so the lack of a sticker is no big deal. The error means only that truckers don't get the sticker that many like to have.
This is a small thing in view of the massive cuts the state is now making because of budget shortfalls owing to the financial and economic crises. Californians drawing unemployment are worrying if they will receive their next unemployment check because that fund is now empty. Going without a sticker is a small thing in comparison.
We are set to pick up today's load this afternoon. This is a reasonably-well-paying, 3,000 mile weekend run that will keep us rolling until Monday. The weather looks good for the entire trip. Zoom! Zoom! Zoom!
To prepare for the trip, I also learned today how to download songs from the iTunes store. That was our Christmas gift to each other in 2008; $100 each to spend on the tunes of our choice.
My first pick? Paradise City by Guns N' Roses.
Take me down to Paradise City
Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty
T-a-k-e m-e h-o-m-e
OK, it's not the church hymn or cultural classic you might expect me to talk about in public, but it's worth a buck, and after dark when no one can see into the cab, you can bet I will be lip syncing.
I'd sing aloud but Diane must sleep. I'd sing aloud when she is awake, but we must stay married. That leaves her driving, me awake in the sleeper, my wireless headphones on, and me practicing the moves shown on the YouTube clip.
Relax. The shades will be drawn, and we have to keep our options open, right? If this trucking thing does not work out, rock stardom might be something to consider.
Take me down to Paradise City
Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty
T-a-k-e m-e h-o-m-e
Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Saturday, January 24, 2008. I learned today nothing new in particular, save events in the news. Learned by listening to the news.
Diane and I follow the news throughout the day; buying a local paper nearly every day, dialing our satellite radio to the BBC, Bloomberg Radio, and National Public Radio as we drive, and receiving news feeds by e-mail. Additionally, we we see the Google News page every time we go on line, as it is set to open with our browser.
Other than today's news, nothing new was learned. We are on a cross-country run that began in San Diego, California. While no new lesson was learned today, a scene I saw continues to run through my mind.
The New Mexico desert is winter brown. The sand is its usual shade but the plants are brown too as it is their season to sleep. The roads were quiet with light weekend traffic. Around mid-day, the winter sun hung low in the sky, casting its light from our right as we drove east on I-40.
I love driving in the Southwest. The scenery is spectacular and you can see miles ahead. Drive high, some safety manuals say. They mean look well ahead of where you are. The New Mexico terrain makes that easy to do. Seeing well in advance that there are no hazards ahead makes it a relaxing drive.
This is a straight-through run, so we are driving and sleeping in shifts. With Diane asleep in back, I crested a hill and could see, far away, a highway patrol car parked on the left shoulder with it's disco lights on (trucker slang for emergency lights). A few moments later, as I drove closer, the car became two as my viewing angle changed and I made out the space between them. Both bears (trucker slang for Highway Patrol, from the Smokey the Bear-style hats they wear) had their disco lights on and both were parked on the left shoulder, one about a quarter-mile ahead of the other.
I was already in the right lane. There was nothing for me to do but slow a bit for caution and keep driving. No other vehicles were nearby. People slowing and taking their eyes off the road to gawk would not be a problem.
Two bears on the left, disco lights on, no other activity ... strange.
Getting closer, I could see one bear was seated in his car. The other had an SUV and was out walking in the ditch. When I drew closer still and saw a third vehicle in the median between the eastbound and westbound lanes, it all came clear.
The car was badly damaged, apparently from rolling several times. The first bear was parked with his lights turned on to warn oncoming traffic about the other bear. The SUV was labeled, "Accident Investigator." In highway patrol uniform, the investigator was on foot, doing his thing with a tape measure and clipboard. Investigators come when fatal accidents occur. Someone died here not long ago.
It was a clear and peaceful day in the desert. The motorist had no reason to think he or she would die today. But in a terror-filled instant, for whatever reason, the car rolled and the motorist died.
Today's news included a report about a truck driver found dead in his truck in Barstow, California. Barstow is a familiar stopping place for us and thousands of other truckers. It is a good and seemingly safe place to get food, fuel, showers and sleep before heading into Los Angeles. We were just there on January 12, when I spent the night in the cab of our truck, staying awake to watch the freight.
The driver died from a single gunshot to the head. He was parked in a restaurant parking lot. Passers-by called police when they spotted blood and broken glass on the ground. The driver's side window was broken. The police ruled out robbery as a motive for the killing. The driver's belongings and freight remained with the truck.
Death comes unexpectedly to a motorist in New Mexico and a truck driver in Barstow. The police come. The police leave. The scenes are returned to normal. People pass through, unaware of the tragedies.
As I drove across the desert today, I wondered who the motorist was. I wondered how the truck driver will get home. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Sunday, January 25, 2008. I learned today that the author of a book I am reading resides in Upstate New York. Learned by reading it on the book back cover.
This jumped out for two reasons: (1) I like the author and intend to read more of his works, and (2) we are on our way to deliver in Upstate New York. As I thought about our Albany, New York destination and the time we will likely spend there waiting for freight, the following options came to mind:
(1) Contact the book author and see about meeting him. (2) Go to the local Volvo dealer to get our soon-due DOT tuck inspection done. (3) Go to a fuel cell company in Albany and talk to them about modifying their product to replace the generator on our truck. (4) Contact our friend "Blogger Bob," who lives in the area, and see if he is home and available to meet. (5) Contact fleet owners we know who live in the area, and see if they are available to meet. (6) Take Diane to breakfast at IHOP in hopes of introducing her to Terry, the Albany "Mom" I once met and wrote a story about. (7) Go to a mall I know in the area and pass time there while waiting for freight. (8) Go to a favorite parking place in the area and pass time there waiting for freight. (9) Check out the local libraries and museums.
We will arrive around 3:30 a.m. and deliver at 9:30. We will see what happens after that. Clearly, we will not be short of things to do. It's funny; before we became expediters we could not have told you the first thing about Albany, New York. Now it is a familiar place with familiar people. We know the delivery location because we have been there before. We won't need a map to get there and have not had to look at one since we got on I-8 coming out of San Diego, California.
As truckers, we are not just seeing the country. We are getting to know it too. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Monday, January 26, 2008. I learned today that President Obama is likely to approve California's request for for an EPA waiver regarding vehicle emissions. Learned from news reports.
I disagree with that decision, not because I oppose reduced emissions, but because I support uniform standards. It raises hell with engine makers and vehicle manufacturers when new standards are imposed. The government needs to choose a standard with a reliable phase-in period and stick with it.
Failure to do so means we cannot easily find currently-trained mechanics to service and repair our truck. That is true on the ground right now. It is one of the reasons we will drive hundreds of miles to get truck work done, bypassing hundreds of other facilities that lack currently-trained mechanics. That is not a cost the regulators factor into their cost/benefit analysis but it is a cost you get to bear, because as truckers that haul your freight, we pass the cost on to you.
It means adding $15,000 to the cost of a new truck (that's what happened between 2006 and 2007 because of yet another standard). It means parts and equipment is not available to provide the maintenance and services constantly-new standards require. It means higher costs for fuel because the standards reduce vehicle fuel economy.
California rules or national rules, whatever they are, government needs to set them, and then leave them alone. Because government officials don't do that, you can expect to see higher prices in your goods and services that are delivered by truck. The only way for truckers to stay in business and remain available to serve you is to pass the emissions costs on to you in the form of higher rates.
In the current economic downturn, a lot of truckers are reducing rates in a desperate bid to raise cash and pay bills. That will last only so long as it is a losing strategy that leads to bankruptcy. When the economy turns around, you watch. The costs to ship your goods will soar, and you can thank not the clean-air rules, but your government's inconsistent drafting, redrafting and imposition of the rules for part of it.
Remember yesterday, when I listed the ways we might spend our time in Albany, New York? Well, we delivered our freight and parked to cook and eat breakfast in the truck. While we were eating a load offer came in that we accepted and rolled on. We are heading south to warmer weather.
It has been a while since we ran two loads back to back. This is a welcome change. We were surprised to get the load. It picks 150 miles away from Albany. As busy as the East Coast usually is, we did not expect our carrier to have to reach out as far as Albany to find a truck to cover this good load. We would have thought that there were lots of trucks available and closer to the pickup that would have happily taken this run.
Oh well! The other trucks are doing whatever they are doing. We're on the load and glad to be. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Tuesday, January 27, 2008. I learned today that January's Consumer Confidence Index reached the lowest level since the index began in 1967. Learned from news reports.
A Reuters article summed it up: "Mounting job losses as the year-long recession deepens are piling misery on consumers already grappling with sharp declines in their wealth following the collapse of the U.S. housing and stock market."
Housing prices continue to decline. U.S. companies announced over 40,000 job cuts in a single day. The stock market, a leading indicator, is not pointing to an upturn. Freight levels, also a leading indicator, remain stagnant or in decline. It seems the economic contraction (recession) continues with no end in sight.
So, we keep hauling what freight is available, and wait things out. Our personal consumer confidence has improved. We have been through some slow months and now know how a severe recession affects our business and life. Before the recession, the five years we spent in the business were in good times. It is nice to know that the preparations we made for bad times are working. We believe we are going to be OK. Like most people, we are eager to see the economic recovery begin.
Speaking of hauling freight, today's load took us from New Jersey to Fort Worth, Texas, or the DFW Metroplex as people on the Weather Channel like to call it. We kept our satellite radio tuned to the Weather Channel and Dallas traffic reports. Overnight, we added 50 miles to our route to go further east and south to avoid freezing rain in Arkansas. Checking the Arkansas weather today, the re-route turned out to be a very good decision.
Our Fort Worth delivery was set for 9:30 p.m. CST. Checking the weather online, I read this 3:18 Dallas Morning News report to Diane as she drove:
"If you haven’t seen ice yet, just wait.
"Forecasters say that the cold drizzle that’s covered most of Dallas, Collin and Tarrant counties is starting to freeze on overpasses and bridges. And much worse is expected through Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning.
"Just before 3 p.m., the temperatures were holding at or below freezing for most of the area. Love Field was at 32 degrees; Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport was 31 degrees; Collin County Regional Airport was at 32 degrees; and Mineral Wells Airport was at 26 degrees.
"'There will be ice out there,' said Jessica Schultz, a forecaster in the National Weather Service office in Fort Worth."
As we enjoyed a summer drive on I-20 in Louisiana, Diane turned the radio back on to get the latest reports. Dallas traffic was moving, but at least one bridge was beginning to ice up. We would arrive well after the rush hour; a good thing, we thought. Tonight's rush hour looks to be one to avoid.
First on our minds were the Dallas bridges. Bridges freeze before roads. In most areas of the country, when traffic moving in different directions meets, the problem is solved on the ground by building cloverleafs, ramps, rotaries and other such interchanges. In Dallas, the problem is solved in the air by building bridges. This photo from TexasFreeway.com shows one such interchange.
Second on our minds was the lack of salt trucks Texas has to deal with ice; third was the inexperienced winter drivers we would be sharing the roads with when we reached town.
An ice storm is hitting Dallas and we are headed for it. Do we stop? Do we continue?
We have learned to prepare for bad weather but to also ignore the bad forecasts. If conditions turn out to be truly bad, we will stop when we reach them. But often, conditions turn out to be better than forecasters fear and we can safely proceed.
So, on a partly-sunny Louisiana day, with the windows open to let the fresh summer air flow through the cab, and dead bugs on the windshield, we headed toward the ice.
We stopped at a Flying J RV dump station to service the toilet and top off our water supply. An hour later and close to Dallas, we stopped at a TA truck stop to top off the fuel. The refrigerator and cupboards are well-stocked with food. If the ice storm stopped us in our tracks, or trapped us for several hours on an accident-blocked bridge, we would be ready to wait it out.
At the fuel stop, we saw a number of drivers knocking heavy ice off their trucks. That told us the storm was the real deal. But approaching the city from the east like we were, the temperature was above freezing. Rain created wet roads, but everything else was fine.
The Fort Worth delivery was on the west side of town. Around 8:00 p.m. CST, we entered the DFW area from the east. The dashboard showed an outside temperature of 31 °F.
It was a warm rain that fell. The roads were wet but not frozen. Traffic was light. Ice was building on the truck but the wipers worked fine and visibility was good.
An hour later, the temperature had dropped to 28 °F. The roads remained wet. Heavy slush formed on the bridge surfaces. Traffic slowed as people gawked at the cars being removed from the sides of the road. Most were breakdowns, not accidents. The few people on the roads were being careful and driving well.
And those impressive elevated interchanges? The solution was simple. The fire department blocked access to them by parking their hook and ladder trucks across the ramps and turning on their emergency lights. Somewhere, a Dallas firefighter may have sat in a fire truck cab and used his or her cell phone to post a blog entry, "How I spent my night in the ice storm." or "I'm soooo bored!"
I was eager to deliver the freight. This was the second of two runs. The first took us from San Diego, California to Albany, New York. The second brought us to Dallas. I was ready to park the truck and stop moving for a while, but the closer we got to the delivery, the slower we had to go.
As we neared the delivery, the roads started to ice over. It was OK as long as we adjusted our speed to conditions. But as we did, the delivery seemed to get further and further away instead of closer and closer. It seemed to take forever to get where we wanted to be.
Finally we arrived. It took the security guard a while to walk from the building to the truck. Glazed ice beneath his feet had him taking one careful step at a time with his arms outstretched to help keep his balance. He directed us to a dock on the other side of the building where we unloaded.
Once again, we delivered the freight safely and on time.
Our next stop was a Wal-Mart parking lot about a mile away. We parked with a number of other trucks on the far end of the lot, took ourselves out of service to get an uninterrupted night of sleep, cooked a meal and went to bed.
We drifted off to sleep in a warm bed, listening to the quiet hum of the generator and sleet pelting the truck. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Wednesday, January 28, 2009. I learned today a little more (very little more) about truck lights. Learned while shopping for one.
Our carrier requires trucks leased to it to be safety inspected every six months. The federal rules require it once a year but our carrier is more stringent. It is known as a DOT inspection. A qualified mechanic or officer inspects the truck to make sure things like lights, brakes, horns, suspension, steering linkage, etc. are in good repair.
Our truck is due for a DOT today and we will not be getting it done because a light is out and I did not have a replacement. It took some driving to find one. Heavy ice buildup under the truck keeps me from getting easily at the light and wires. Warmer temperatures tomorrow should melt the ice away and I will get to it then.
We did not feel like doing much today and didn't. We remained out of service in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. I guess a day of rest was needed after the storm and the two long runs. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Thursday, January 29, 2009. I learned today of the best barbeque food we have ever eaten. Learned by stumbling onto the restaurant that served it and dining there.
If you are on a diet, you might want to skip today's blog entry.
Still here? OK ...
Take a moment to recall the three best meals you have eaten in your life.
Now pick one of those and remember it as best you can. Recall the seating, sounds, smells, colors, texture and taste. Remember whatever it was that made this meal the one you enjoyed over all others.
That was the kind of meal we had this evening at the Shady Oak restaurant in Fort Worth, Texas. It was a total surprise.
The decor was pretty much what you would expect from a moderate-price, sit-down barbeque restaurant. Think Famous Dave's with a Texas theme. The friendly staff seated us in a booth in a room mostly filled with casually-dressed customers. Water and menus were brought to us. A female server took our order a few minutes later. So far, it was a routine restaurant visit.
Then the food came. We were glad we ordered light as the helpings were abundant. We both ordered pulled pork with a baked potato. It looked good on the plate and was served piping hot. When I gathered the pork onto my fork and took my first taste, I was stunned. My eyes opened wide. I said to Diane, Whoa! This is delicious! A second taste confirmed it. I have never tasted barbeque this good.
I took a deep breath, settled more comfortably into the booth and prepared to savor every bite. This was a meal worth eating ... and I did, one delightful bite at a time.
The meal was the highlight of our day which was otherwise unproductive. The ice storm took out a string of lights on one side of the truck sleeper but the failure did not occur until today. Before we could take the truck in to get the required DOT inspection done, the lights needed to be fixed. It took me a while to first get to it and then fix it. Ice from Tuesday's storm is still melting and coming off the bottom of the truck in chunks.
By the time the lights were fixed, there was not enough time left in the day to get the truck in for a DOT. We were able to get the truck into a truck wash and were very glad for that. When you live and work in and around a truck like we do, it is nice to have it clean.
We will be back in service tomorrow morning after the DOT inspection is done. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Friday, January 30, 2009. I learned today what a Blackberry Storm smartphone looks and feels like. Learned by looking at one a friend showed me.
We are in the Dallas/Fort Worth area waiting for freight. The quick DOT inspection the local Volvo dealer said we could get turned out to be not so quick. We got in at 8:00 a.m. and did not get out until 3:30 p.m.
On any other day, I would have pulled the truck out by 10:00 and gone someplace else to have the job done. This day, the truck was put out of service by our carrier because the required DOT had not been done. The federal rules require DOTs once a year so we were legal to drive. Our carrier requires them every six months and will not dispatch a truck that is not current. It was best to leave the truck where it was instead of trying to find another place that could get us in immediately.
As it happened, another truck-driving team was in town, having delivered a load from California the day before. They are some of the best friends we have in the industry. Knowing where we were, they drove up to meet us. We walked across the street to visit over a late breakfast. We then went to the drivers lounge at the dealership and visited more there.
Finally, our truck was done. We faxed in the paperwork and were put back in service soon after. About that time, our friends accepted a load offer that they had to roll on immediately. They were happy for the good load and we were happy they came to visit. They headed out to pick up their freight. We headed to a Wal-Mart to spend the night. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Saturday, January 31, 2009. I learned today the locations of the grease zerks (fittings) on our truck. Learned by studying the maintenance manual and locating the zerks.
We grease the truck every 12,000 miles (approximately). The manufacturer specifies a 15,000 mile interval. Oil changes are done every 25,000 miles, which is within manufacturer specs for trucks used in light duty applications, which ours is. Thus, we get the truck greased with each oil change and once between each oil change.
Getting the truck greased is quick and easy. A truck stop shop will charge around $25 to do the job and it takes just a few minutes.
I once thought about greasing the truck myself and bought the grease and a grease gun to do it. But as quick and easy as it is to have it done, I never quite got to greasing the truck myself.
Today, being parked at a truck stop where we went for showers, enjoying comfortable Texas weather, having time on my hands and the truck being due for grease, I thought about greasing it myself. Locating the zerks was the first step. But when it came time to put on my coveralls, crawl around under the truck and wipe chunks of dirt and grease off the zerks, I decided $25 was not such a bad price to pay.
It would do me good to grease the truck. It would help me know the job is done right and give me a reason to get under there and look things over on a scheduled basis. But that is what DOT inspections are for too, and we just had one done yesterday.
I opted for clean work instead; spring cleaning to be exact. While waiting for a load offer that did not come, we opened the windows and gave the sleeper a good cleaning. With toothpicks, toothbrushes, Q-tips, hot water and cleaning products, we went to work and got the sleeper looking fresh and new.
Even in good times, the Dallas express center is not one from which we would expect a load on a weekend. Receiving no load offers was no surprise. 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 when we are under load. Entries are updated to include location information after we leave the area. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page