I know most of the people on here aren’t big sports fans. But since this blog does contain a “sports” category, I thought I’d post anyways. I have loved baseball for most of my life. I for one, thought this was the best 4 game world series I’ve seen. Every game went down to the last out. Anyone else have any comments or thoughts on the series? Now back to watching the Sooners trying to stave off the Cornhuskers.

Who would you like to see in the oval office next time?
Why?

Ever wonder why the letters on your computer keyboard (left over from typewriter keyboards) are laid-out in such an awkward fashion?……. Well, to you right-handers anyway (I’m left-handed)…….. Here’s why…….

The QWERTY keyboard was designed to slow down typists by putting the most frequently typed letters under control of the weakest felt-hand fingers…… The nineteenth-century machines weren’t mechanically trustworthy enough to keep up with fast typists….. Now word processors can keep-up with the fastest typist, but the old slow-down keyboard arrangement remains the same because no one wants to learn a new one…….

A person could get rich designing a faster layout for the keyboard…….. Or could they?……. I probably wouldn’t buy it….. I’m too used to the existing layout and too set in my ways…..

Tells you something about human nature and our resistance to any kind of change, which seems to make history repeat itself over and over again no matter how much techno-advancement is made…….

Just thought I’d mention this. I downloaded & installed Mozilla Firefox (a free browser). I am greatly impressed. I get absoultely no popups, spyware, etc. Seems to run faster than IE & also seems to be much more stable. I highly reccomend it.

Remember when you were in grade school, they had show & tell day? A younger business associate of mine is taking night classes to get an associates degree in accounting. The other day, he told me one of the chapters in history book was devoted to the Hippy movement. He asked if I would come for show & tell. I didn’t know whether to laugh or get pissed. Oh, well. I guess it happens to all of us, if we live long enough.

Why is Diesel Fuel an average $1.50 higher than Gasoline?
As the price of fuel goes up so must prices for everything, we have to pass this cost along somehow.
And as I have said before the companies Damn sure are not going to lower their profit margins, and perks for the fat cats.

I have been compiling this one for a while, The comments that I am writing are not specificly aimed at the writers that usually frequent this blog. I know a lot of you and I’m sure that you are all safe and courtious drivers. I hope that some of you will take these ideas to heart and pass them along to others who may not be quite as dilligent in their driving habits as all of you are, Also I hope that I can make some of the actions that we take for granted come a little more to the front of our conciousness. ( I have completed the Smith Systems Driving Course and that is what it teaches Basicly) Now that being said, What the hell is wrong with the people today when they get behind the wheel!!!?
Now as many of you all know I am a Professional Over the road Long haul truck driver(whew) I have driven over 1 Million accident free miles, I make my living behind the wheel and I see these things on a daily basis. Now I would ask everyone to go to their respective Department of Motor Vevicles and pick up a copy of your states drivers manual( the one that you had to read to get your drivers licence) also pick up a copy of the Commericial Vehicle Drivers Manual(this is the one that we have to read and be tested on to get our CDL.
Now my Points.
1.Speed Limits, Why is the same person who drives 70 Mph thru town the same person who drives 65 on the open road? I see it often people will drive like a bat out of hell thru town and then on the other side slow down if you are going to be a maniac in a congested area then isn’t it logical out where it is open then be a bigger maniac?
1.(a) Speedlimits through construction zones. If the Posted speed is 40 then why do people slow down to 20 also why do the construction workers want us to slow down to 20 if they want us to go that slow then make the limit 20. We are on a tight schedule and a lot of times these zones are not built into our time frame, our days are figured on a certiain average Mph.Also, They need to stay on their side of the barricade and we will stay on ours, you hear of accidents involving highway workers all the time what you don’t hear is how the worker stepped in front of the vehicle or leaned out too far this is the case a lot of the time.
2. Following Too Close, This one of my Pet Peeves. There is a sign on the back of a lot of trailers that says “If I stop Can You?” this is good advice. Most of the safety courses teaches this the one accident that is almost always preventable. I have seen my share of rear end collisions, and with the configurations of trailers that we pull today when someone hits the rear of one they are going up under the back end of it and that almost always results in the occupents of the automoblie being killed, I know that with gas the way it is today it is convienent to follow that semi to block the wind but, if that truck stops abruptly where will you go? also with the threat of terrorisim the way it is nowdays how does the truck driver know if the car following so close is trying to get inside his trailer. While moving you ask, It has Happened!.
3. On the other end, When you pass someone give a little room before you come back over into the right lane. Don’t just whip back over as soon as you have cleared their bumper I have had cars and( Semi’s also) come over so close that I could not see their back bumper, as a side to this don’t pass and IMMEDIATELY slam on your brakes so you can exit the freeway, if your exit is coming up stay behind the vehicle that you were going to pass and then get off. Some persons have taken this to an art form It is called the swoop and squat. A car passes you and stops causing you to have a rear end collision and then they can sue you for big bucks, and nothing comes up dollar signs like suing a Trucking company.
4. Passing, One saying puts it into perspective “Get Er Done” When you pull out into the passing lane GO don’t just pull out and set there, Remember it is called the PASSING lane so pass allready. Remember trucks have blind spots like you would not believe these are called the NO Zones, Remember don’t hang out in the No Zone.
5. Entering the freeway. At most entrance ramps there is a triangle shaped sign that says Yield. This means that you must wait until the road is clear before you can enter the highway. This does not mean that The vehicle traveling down the road must slow down and let you on ( if they do this consider it a courtesy not a right) In my case If the left lane is clear and there is no vehicle attempting to pass me I will move over for someone entering if not I do not have to slow down for you. when entering the road you must use the enterance ramp AKA the Acceleration lane to get your vehicle up to speed. This does not mean matching the speed of the vehicle next to you if you have to speed up a little bit to get out onto the road in front of the other vehicle do so, if not then wait for them to pass by and then enter, This is called Merging. Don’t run down the shoulder and expect someone to get over for you some times they can’t, and if we have to slow down and then get back up to speed that costs fuel in a Truck and as you all know today fuel is the main thing that we are worried about.
6. When you see a cop or an accident or other incident on the other side of the road you do not have to slow way down, 1st there is nothing you can do about it,2nd watch it on the news tonight, if it is not mentioned it was no big deal, 3rd the cop is not going to stop what they are doing, and come after you for doing the speed limit, every one has been traveling along and a cop has someont pulled over on the shoulder and everyone slows down 5 to 15 mph as they pass the cop, this does nothing but cause traffic jams, and wrecks.
Now I do not wish to just call down car drivers, every one of my points I have made have also been done by other truck drivers as well, The new crop of drivers that the driving schools are turning out every 4 weeks are In my opinion just not up to par with us older drivers, some things you just can’t learn from a book in a week, I have been doing this for 20 years and am still learning. If you see a truck doing something unsafe don’t be afraid to call their company and report it to their safety department, I have been called in on before and If I was found to be in error I took the punishment, But when you call make sure that the complaint is a valid one, if in doubt, read the drivers manual.(You went and got one didn’t you ?).
I have found that most road rage incidents started from some one thinking they had the right to do something and someone did not let them.
I hope that you have a safe motoring experence. If you give us a little rescect on the roads we will return it.
If any one of you would like to take a ride in a truck to see what I have been talking about and to see what we have to deal with out there every day all you have to do is ask. If I personally cannot do it for you I can arrange it with someone in your area, or call some of the trucking companies in your area and most of them will more than glad to.
Be safe Happy motoring.

The Guess Who had a hit in 1970 with “Share the Land.” But the song was banned across the South because politicians thought it was promoting communism…… As the band explained, the song was about heaven…….

Wouldn’t those red-baiting politicians have served the country better by investigating the subversive lyrics in “Louie, Louie”?…….. Oh! That’s right, they had the FBI handle that investigation……..

Of course, that was a different time, but has it gotten better or worse as the Black and White of things fade into varying Shades of Grey ?…….

I don’t know if any of you remember a songwriter/musician from the ’60’s/’70’s by the name of John Cage, but he wrote a song called, “As Slow as Possible.”…….. The song would take 629 years to play……..

And they say pop culture has no lasting value……

TTop loaned me “Chips From The Chocolate Fireball”, The Dukes of Stratosphear anthology.  Remember them from the 60’s?  The CD cover reports that it features all of “Psonic Psunspot and 25 O’Clock”.  Still not ringing a bell?  Well that’s because they didn’t really exist in the 60’s.  This album is all about psychedelic music: It has elements of the 60’s Stones, Floyd, Beatles, Byrds, Moodys, you name it — it even has a Beach Boysish track.  They almost do the 60’s too well!  This album is not meant to be funny like The Rutles or Spinal Tap, instead it is a fine addition to your late 60’s collection.  It is really a 1987 release by the members of XTC.  For more info, see this Chalkhills link.  Check out The Dukes of Stratosphear — the 60’s are only getting farther away!

What’s the deal with all the weird weather events all over the world this year?…… Has God (or whatever deity you choose to, or not to, believe in) decided to remove us vile destructive humans from the face of the Earth before we have the chance to wipe each other out on our own (we’ve been doing a fairly good job of it lately) and/or blow-up the entire world taking not only us out but all the other living species too?……..

I can see where God might not have a problem with us doin’ ourselves in, but we probably shouldn’t be allowed to take the other million or so species with us, should we…….eh?

Or-r-r, is there real scientific fact to back-up and explain all the hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, etc. going on one after another this year?……..

Or-r-r, is the Earth just getting old, decrepit, and coming apart at the seams?…….. If she is, I know how “Mother Earth” feels – Just like I do every morning……. Don’t ya just hate to get-up and hit the daily grind sometimes?…….

In a fight between you and the world, bet on the world…….
– Frank Kafka

All the world’s a stage, and most of us are desperately unrehearsed……..
– Sean O’Casey, Irish playwright

Terrence Dickson of Bristol, Pennsylvania, was leaving a house he had just finished robbing by way of the garage. He was not able to get the garage door to go up since the automatic door opener was malfunctioning. He couldn’t reenter the house because the door connecting the house and garage locked when he pulled it shut. The family was on vacation, and Mr. Dickson found himself locked in the garage for eight days. He subsisted on a case of Pepsi he found and a large bag of dry dog food. He sued the homeowner’s insurance claiming the situation caused him undue mental anguish. The jury agreed to the tune of $500,000.

On a more local note:
This year’s favorite could easily be Mr. Merv Grazinski of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Mr. Grazinski purchased a brand new 32-foot Winnebago motor home. On his first trip home, having driven onto the freeway, he set the cruise control at 70 mph and calmly left the drivers seat to go into the back and make himself a cup of coffee. Not surprisingly, the R.V. left the freeway, crashed and overturned. Mr. Grazinski sued Winnebago for not advising him in the owner’s manual that he couldn’t actually do this. The jury awarded him $1,750,000 plus a new motor home. The company actually changed their manuals on the basis of this suit, just in case there were any other complete morons buying their recreation vehicles.

Ya’ gotta love the legal system in this country.

I know this blog has people from other than Oklahoma or Texas. Anyway after another dissapointing outing from the Sooners, all I can say is ain’t payback a bitch.

Here’s a couple of quotes from the political arena on fools that are funny and true at the same time……..

“The young fool has first to grow up to be an old fool to realize what a damn fool he was when he was a young fool”……… –Harold Macmillian, politician…….

Newspaper columnist Molly Ivins reported that a state senator bragged, “If you took all the fools out of the legislature, it wouldn’t be a representative body any more.”………..

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