Friday, December 31, 2004
Progress
I just started this blog a few days ago. I've got to admit that this isn't my first attempt. The first blog I attempted failed because I didn't stick with it. It also didn't work because I was attempting to make it a family blog, where everyone could share what's goin on in their world. Well, one family contributed. Oh well. BUT, this time, I am in for the long haul. While it would be nice for someone to read it and comment, it's not such a big deal to me as it was last time. This should allow me to be more, well, "me".
There are so many, many things that can be done with my blog. There are sooooo many resources I can use. It's kind of overwhelming. So, I am going to take it step by step. My first accomplishment is that I've added the Google free seach tool. It took me a while to get it to work, but I did it! The only thing I haven't figured out yet is how to make the background to the tool match my blog background. I'm sure I'll figure it out in time.
Of course, the primary thing I need to accomplish is to post often. My goal is to keep this thing going for the fun of it. If the ad thingy brings a li'l cash, I'm ok with that too, LOL.
My dad is a truck driver. You remember that huge snowfall a couple of weeks ago in Indiana? My dad got stuck in it. He was about 50 miles from the Illinois boarder when he ran into a lot of trouble seeing the road. He pulled off to a truckstop, and ended up staying there for 2 1/2 days. They had about 19" inches of snow where he was. As you can imagine, I talk to my dad less often than I get the oil changed in my car. This was the first time since maybe July. So we wished each other a Merry Christmas and talked for about 10 minutes. He told me about the State of Emergency declared by Indiana's govenor, and how the CB was all the chatter about a fine that had been threatend against the drivers. First, and most importantly, if you try to drive in a blizzard like that, your nuts and belong in a padded room. But I thought it was funny how the troopers warned the truckers that anyone caught attempting to drive on the interestated would face a $1000 fine. I say if a driver attempts it and gets stuck, s/he would have to personally pay for the wrecker and the cop's wages for the time the cop was tied up for such nonsense. But I digress. The main point of my dad's story is what I want to share. You see, when we, as American citizens, face a disaster, we instinctively help each other out. As my dad tells it, there were only two employees at the restaurant at the truckstop because the staff couldn't get to or from the truckstop. So the waitress and the manager were there alone. And the were working alone for more than 27 hours. The truckers pitched in to help. The guys and gals were making coffee, taking orders, and serving food to help the two people there out. The waitress and manager were completely fatigued and struggling to help the stranded motorists and truckers. And these truckers, God Bless them, pitched in to help out.
Since I'm on the topic, I'd like to share my observations about the trucking industry. First, its' funny how the cars think the truck drivers driver poorly, and how the truckers think the 4-wheelers are horrible drivers. I've heard it from both sides. Let's not group all of the truckers together because of a few rotten apples, and vis versa for the 4-wheelers out there. By in large, the truckers are professional drivers. Think about it. They drive more miles in one year than most of us drive in 5 years. My dad has driven over 2 million miles. LOL, and I think I drive alot when my odemeter tells me I drove 25,000 miles in one year. The truckers have to get special training and a special license to drive. All we need to do is take a simple test, get most of it right, and bada-bing, we can release our 2 ton weapon. The truckers are held to high standards by their employers - well, at least the company drivers and not the owner-operators. The owner-operators are nuts. I have no idea how they can make any sort of profit with the costs of fuel, tolls, and maintenance on their rigs. The truckers deserve our respect AND their right-of-way. Without these guys and gals, the stuff we spend our money on wouldn't get to its destination.
I also remember a recent story here in Illinois where the govenor, Blag, as I like to call him, veto'd a bill by the state legislature to increase the speed limit on rural highways/interstates from 55mph to 65. What a jackass. It's a slam to the professional truckers out there. There are other states that don't have a speed restriction like Illinois does, and they are fine. Truckers should be able to go the same speed as cars. At least they know more than the average driver out there about speed, road conditions, and braking.
And since I brought up Blag, I've got to tell ya he is shooting for the national spotlight. He's gettin the headlines out there so he can raise money for a higher office. Meanwhile, he can't even manage his own state. There was a budget issue over the summertime that just showed his incompetence. To show some respect, his last name is Blagojevich. I call him "blag", because when I think of him, I think blah . Now how's that for some wit? LOL. Somebody's got to pump my ego up.
There are so many, many things that can be done with my blog. There are sooooo many resources I can use. It's kind of overwhelming. So, I am going to take it step by step. My first accomplishment is that I've added the Google free seach tool. It took me a while to get it to work, but I did it! The only thing I haven't figured out yet is how to make the background to the tool match my blog background. I'm sure I'll figure it out in time.
Of course, the primary thing I need to accomplish is to post often. My goal is to keep this thing going for the fun of it. If the ad thingy brings a li'l cash, I'm ok with that too, LOL.
My dad is a truck driver. You remember that huge snowfall a couple of weeks ago in Indiana? My dad got stuck in it. He was about 50 miles from the Illinois boarder when he ran into a lot of trouble seeing the road. He pulled off to a truckstop, and ended up staying there for 2 1/2 days. They had about 19" inches of snow where he was. As you can imagine, I talk to my dad less often than I get the oil changed in my car. This was the first time since maybe July. So we wished each other a Merry Christmas and talked for about 10 minutes. He told me about the State of Emergency declared by Indiana's govenor, and how the CB was all the chatter about a fine that had been threatend against the drivers. First, and most importantly, if you try to drive in a blizzard like that, your nuts and belong in a padded room. But I thought it was funny how the troopers warned the truckers that anyone caught attempting to drive on the interestated would face a $1000 fine. I say if a driver attempts it and gets stuck, s/he would have to personally pay for the wrecker and the cop's wages for the time the cop was tied up for such nonsense. But I digress. The main point of my dad's story is what I want to share. You see, when we, as American citizens, face a disaster, we instinctively help each other out. As my dad tells it, there were only two employees at the restaurant at the truckstop because the staff couldn't get to or from the truckstop. So the waitress and the manager were there alone. And the were working alone for more than 27 hours. The truckers pitched in to help. The guys and gals were making coffee, taking orders, and serving food to help the two people there out. The waitress and manager were completely fatigued and struggling to help the stranded motorists and truckers. And these truckers, God Bless them, pitched in to help out.
Since I'm on the topic, I'd like to share my observations about the trucking industry. First, its' funny how the cars think the truck drivers driver poorly, and how the truckers think the 4-wheelers are horrible drivers. I've heard it from both sides. Let's not group all of the truckers together because of a few rotten apples, and vis versa for the 4-wheelers out there. By in large, the truckers are professional drivers. Think about it. They drive more miles in one year than most of us drive in 5 years. My dad has driven over 2 million miles. LOL, and I think I drive alot when my odemeter tells me I drove 25,000 miles in one year. The truckers have to get special training and a special license to drive. All we need to do is take a simple test, get most of it right, and bada-bing, we can release our 2 ton weapon. The truckers are held to high standards by their employers - well, at least the company drivers and not the owner-operators. The owner-operators are nuts. I have no idea how they can make any sort of profit with the costs of fuel, tolls, and maintenance on their rigs. The truckers deserve our respect AND their right-of-way. Without these guys and gals, the stuff we spend our money on wouldn't get to its destination.
I also remember a recent story here in Illinois where the govenor, Blag, as I like to call him, veto'd a bill by the state legislature to increase the speed limit on rural highways/interstates from 55mph to 65. What a jackass. It's a slam to the professional truckers out there. There are other states that don't have a speed restriction like Illinois does, and they are fine. Truckers should be able to go the same speed as cars. At least they know more than the average driver out there about speed, road conditions, and braking.
And since I brought up Blag, I've got to tell ya he is shooting for the national spotlight. He's gettin the headlines out there so he can raise money for a higher office. Meanwhile, he can't even manage his own state. There was a budget issue over the summertime that just showed his incompetence. To show some respect, his last name is Blagojevich. I call him "blag", because when I think of him, I think blah . Now how's that for some wit? LOL. Somebody's got to pump my ego up.
Kicknit 12/31/2004