7-27-77: A Day To Remember

It was a day back when nobody had a cell phone.

It was a day back when nobody had a PC and computers with relatively low capability that took up a whole room, & put out massive amount of waste heat, used mag tape and punch cards.

It was a day back when the world was supposed to run out of petroleum within the next decade.

It was a day back when there were still two Germanys.

It was a day back when VW (old) Beetles were running around all over the place.

It was a day back when cassette tape was the latest & greatest technology for music.

It was a day back when Jimmy Carter was in the Oval Office.

It was a day back when nobody had a GPS, and satellite dishes were huge and few people had them.

It was a day back when there was still a Soviet Union and the Cold War and the threat of nuclear war was very much still ongoing.

It was the day I met my wife.

It was the day my life has never been the same.

I HATE Getting Old!!!

One of my meals (i.e. dinner) on the road used to be pork & beans; I'd eat either one large can or two smaller cans. But no more. The last two times I et beans, while trying to sleep I ended up having massive gas, major intestinal distress, and have to take a dump in the middle of the night, which means having to fully get dressed (I sleep nekked) & go to the truck stop bathroom, or in the case of the time before last (where there was no bathroom available), take a dump in a a triple Wal Mart bag lined bucket!!!

Moe: Did You Take A Bath? Larry: No! Is There One Missing?

When I was a kid, this is no lie: I'd take a bath once a week, always on a Saturday. Then, it was my younger brother's turn in the same bathwater. Then after that, my grandmother would take a bath!!! You see, she lived lived through The Great Depression, and was extremely frugal.

I remember when granny would use an egg, she'd scrape and scrape the shell with her thumb to get every molecule of egg white out.

I Have Expanded My Job Title

*** Left click on photo for full size!!! ***

I used to say I was a CVPOO (Commercial Vehicle Professional Owner Operator), but now I expanded it to:

CVPOO/FRE (Commercial Vehicle Professional Owner Operator / Freight Relocation Engineer).

Ants In My Pee Bottle!

Before leaving for my weekly trek this week, I rummaged through our plastic bottle recycle bin that was on our back porch, searching for any 1/2 gallon bottles to be used as urinals on the road. (I primarily use one gallon Hawaiian Punch Light bottles).

I found a 1/2 gallon fruit juice bottle with the cover on, but not on super tight. There were dozens of ants in the bottle. How on earth did they get in???

I HATE Timid People On the Highway

I detest when on a 4 or 6 lane highway, timid people creep up on my behind, and just stay there, riding my ass. Obviously they were going faster than me, or they never would have caught up with me. So why do they lower their speed and follow me, instead of passing me, and going their original/desired speed??? It burns me up.

I flash them my 4-ways a few times, then if that doesn't work, I sometimes go into the left lane & HOPE they pass me on the right, -OR- I slow down from my usual 60 MPH to 55, and hope they finally pass me. If THAT fails to do the trick, then I slow to 50 MPH, and they finally pass. Then I HONK at them for their idiocy!

Who Is Jack Williams?

*** just curious ***

Man Complains About My Flatch At Urinal

While at truckstop urinal, someone commented/complained about a stray fart I expelled. At 1st I thought he was kidding, and played along, much to my dismay, he wasn't kidding!!! What a moron. A stray fart during peeing is just part of the process!!!

"History Shows Again and Again How Nature Points Up the Folly of Men"

Those lyrics by BOC (Blue Oyster Cult) are quite prophetic!

The Christian Dark Ages

This is a cryin' shame!!! We would all probably have robotic slaves by now to do all the menial tasks, freeing us up for all the fun stuff, if it weren't for the CDA (sob, sob).

Weird Toilet Phenomenon

One of our four toilets has a weird phenomenon; sometimes it flushes perfectly fine, and sometimes it flushes poorly. And I'm talking about liquid only (no solids).

When it flushes poorly, the amount of water coming from the tank is exactly the same as a good flush, but it just swirls with little going down, so if there indeed were solids in bowl, little to none would go down, requiring a (hopefully good) 2nd flush.

How can this be? The flush differences are light night & day. It seems like there is a violation of the laws of physics going on.

LEFT CLICK ON PHOTO TO READ TEXT!!!

Liar, Liar, Pants On Fire!

Indian doctors are studying an 83-year-old holy man who claims to have spent the last seven decades without food and water.

Military doctors hope the experiments on Prahlad Jani can help soldiers develop their survival strategies.

The long-haired and bearded yogi is under 24-hour observation by a team of 30 specialists during three weeks of tests at a hospital in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad.

Two cameras have been set up in his room, while a mobile camera films him when he goes outside, guaranteeing round-the-clock observation.

His body will be scanned and his brain and heart activity measured with electrodes.

"The observation from this study may throw light on human survival without food and water," said Dr. G. Ilavazahagan, who is directing the research. "This may help in working out strategies for survival during natural calamities, extreme stressful conditions and extra-terrestrial explorations like future missions to the Moon and Mars by the human race."

Since the experiment began on April 22, Jani has had no food or water and has not been to the toilet.

"The exercise of taking this yogi under the medical scanner is to understand what energy supports his existence," Ilavazahagan added. "Jani says he meditates to get energy. Our soldiers will not be able to meditate, but we would still like to find out more about the man and his body."

Jani, who dresses in red and wears a nose ring, grew up in Charod village in the Mehsana district in Gujarat.

He claims to have been blessed by a goddess when he was 8-years-old, which has enabled him to survive without sustenance.

India To Sell Pickups In U.S. Soon

NEW YORK – Indian truck maker Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. has run all of the required Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Admin. tests necessary for certification to begin selling vehicles in the U.S, but it has not submitted the paperwork.

“The government has nothing to review at this time,” says a Global Vehicles U.S.A. Inc. insider.


Mahindra now says first trucks to be built in India, not U.S.

Global Vehicles, which has its headquarters in Alphareta, GA, has exclusive rights to distribute Mahindra's TR 20 and TR 40 diesel-powered small pickups.

The distributor previously has announced a number of launch plans going back more than a year. But its latest date for this spring seems unattainable, as Mahindra still lacks federal certification.

Global Vehicles CEO John Perez has said Mahindra executives have not informed him of their plans to ship the pickups here, according to the insider, noting Perez has indicated Mahindra is determined not to bring the trucks here until they are totally right.

Global Vehicles has signed up 340 dealers, some of whom have paid a franchise fee of $195,000 for the right to sell the Indian trucks in the U.S. Some paid a lower franchise fee when the distributor started recruiting dealers a little over three years ago.

Mahindra initially plans to distribute the 2-door TR 20 and 4-door TR 40 in the U.S. Both pickups will be powered by a 2.2L diesel engine that generates 140 hp and 236 lb.-ft. (320 Nm) of torque.
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A 6-speed automatic transmission is standard for both models. The trucks also will use a urea solution to treat oxides of nitrogen emissions in order to be certified in all states.

Mahindra originally said the trucks would be assembled in the U.S., but has not selected a site for a plant yet. Instead, the truck maker says its first products will be built in India and shipped here, even though that means a 25% truck import tariff will be added.

Global Vehicles plans to begin distribution in the southeast region of the U.S. when it receives the trucks and then widen distribution across the entire country.

The distributor previously announced it would also bring Mahindra's 4-wheel-drive utility vehicles here as an additional part of dealer portfolios.

Cultural Shock

When I was 16, I drove my family to Florida in 1973 (this was during the "gas crisis") from the Pacific Northwest (all 3,435 miles). Back then, many of the Interstates were not complete, and AAA (actually CAA) had routed us on several back roads for the shortest route.

I had never been in the "deep south" before. Well, going thru such states as Mississippi and Alabama, we went thru hick towns and spied old shacks with "porch monkeys" sittin' out front. It was quite a cultural shock!

Goldie Hawn

She's my favorite Jew.

I've followed her since her appearance on Laugh-In in the 60's.

Did you know she has historic American roots? Her dad, Edward Rutledge Hawn, a band musician who played at major events in Washington, DC is a direct descendant of Edward Rutledge, a signatory of the Declaration of Independence.

Pens

At our house, I am constantly buying multi-packs of cheap pens, yet rarely (if ever) do we throw one out because it ran out of ink.

We've lived in our house for over 23 years, so undoubtedly I've bought THOUSANDS of pens. Where are all these pens???!!!

My hope had always been, that if I buy enough pens, an ample supply would be around the house, and I'd get to the point of never having to buy anymore, but that point seems to be a highly elusive impossible goal.

I Have Only One Goal In Life...

...to ride in the Oscar Meyer weinermobile! (then I can die in peace).

The Presto Hot Dogger

When I was a kid in the 60's, we had a Presto Hotdogger. They were cool, in that it cooked a hot dog in 60 seconds flat (similar to a microwave), but the drawback, was that the hot dogs had a major "electrical" taste, especially at the ends, where they contacted the electrical probes!!!

Firing Tear Gas In My School's Bathroom!

When I was a kid, my mom had a "starter pistol", that she kept in her purse, that had tiny tear gas bullets that I remember were made in Germany. I guess the idea was, you shoot somebody in the face that tries to attack you.

Anywho, I found that if you throw these "bullets" on hard ground, they go off. So I brought some to school when I was in junior high. So for a prank, I went into the boy's bathroom, and when nobody was around, I threw a couple of bullets on the floor, and then left quickly. Then I'd watch when somebody went in the bathroom and came out rubbing their eyes!!! It was quite funny! Hehe!