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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
Sunday, November 1, 2009 I learned today that ... "when one is consciously or unconsciously motivated to reach a certain conclusion, the brain’s emotion systems focus awareness on information that is congruent with one’s emotional need and directs the conscious to ignore, reinterpret, or discount incongruent information." Learned by reading this document, from which the quote comes.
This University of Arizona discussion paper talks about homeowners who own homes that have declined in value from their purchase price, resulting in amounts owed that are more than the homes are now worth. Discussed at length is the homeowner behavior that got them into these circumstances in the first place, and the reasoning and emotions that keeps them stuck.
It is the behavioral part of the document that interests me most. The mental and emotional processes by which people made bad home purchase decisions also explain how and why truckers make bad business decisions. The document is thoroughly footnoted. If I wanted to write about how and why truckers get into financial trouble, this document provides an excellent research track.
I would love to research and write such a piece. But in keeping with other priorities, Operation Streamline comes first. With Diane now out of the truck for an entire week and me alone on the road, I intend to make full use of the available time.
She and I woke up at 6:00 this morning at the Flying J truck stop in Indianapolis, Indiana. We don't normally stay overnight at truck stops but did this time because it was close to the Indianapolis airport. Her flight left at 9:00 a.m., which meant we needed to get her there by 7:00. Her two-hop flight went well and she is cooking supper at home (Minnesota) as I sit in the truck and write this. She is home on a family mission.
After dropping Diane off at the airport, I went to church and an adult Bible study class in Indianapolis. I then picked up some things at Wal-Mart and made my way to Fort Wayne, Indiana where I have a truck-maintenance appointment tomorrow morning.
The truck gets big and time moves slow when Diane is not here. As best as either of us can recall, we have never been apart for more than a few days in the 14 years we have been together.
It is going to be a long week. My challenge will be to stay focused on Operation Streamline and not mope around in a de-energized state wishing she was here. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Monday, November 2, 2009 I learned today that we have empty cupboard space in the truck. Learned by seeing it in a cupboard I seldom access.
Diane does most of the grocery shopping and cooking when we are on the road. Those tasks fall to me when she is not here, like now. She is home in Minnesota for a week on a family mission . I am with the truck in Indiana, getting get some repairs and maintenance done.
When I got up this morning to make breakfast, I found free space in the cupboard. What is so delightful about that? For a lot folks, nothing at all. For me, I love it that we have not packed every square inch of living space full of stuff that we do not need or use. I love it that our large sleeper provides enough space to store everything we need and use on the road.
For three years we drove fleet-owner trucks that lacked such space. It seemed we could never get to anything without first moving something else out of the way. In this truck, we can generally put our hands on whatever we want without moving something else. It makes a huge difference in the quality of life we enjoy on the road.
Part of my Operation Streamline is to trim back and better organize the stuff we carry in the truck. We are in mostly good shape on that. It has helped to have occasional "drawer meetings" as we call them. Every once in a while, we will select a drawer or cupboard, pull everything out, and put back only the things we need and use. What is not needed or used gets thrown away or donated.
You can try this at home. It is easy once you start. Start with something small like your medicine cabinet. With your spouse or significant other, empty the cabinet and clean the inside. Then decide together what goes back in, selecting only the things you need and use. Throw away the rest.
Physically, emotionally, spiritually and financially, the less crap one keeps around, the better one's life tends to be. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Tuesday, November 3, 2009 I learned today that the British government is forcing the big banks it bailed out to downsize by selling off parts of their operations. Learned from news reports.
I think this is a great idea. If a bank is too big to fail, it is too big. No commercial or investment bank should be permitted to grow so large that its failure will result in catastrophic consequences for national or global economies. Smaller banks, and more of them, promotes competition and a better financial environment than do a few huge banks that are too big to fail.
Will U.S. policy makers adopt the same stance? We can only hope. The economic crash in 2008 was brought on partly by banks that were deemed too big to fail, and by too much debt being held by people and institutions at all levels. In the U.S., the trend has been to merge failing banks into larger banks and to spend trillions of public dollars to stimulate the economy. It seems very strange to me that the solution to big banks and too much debt is to create bigger banks and even more debt.
• My visit yesterday to our Volvo dealer in New Haven Indiana was a success. Everything I went in to get done got done. The mechanic who did the oil change and truck inspection spotted a couple of loose clamps on the engine exhaust manifold that were repaired. A driver's seat arm rest that was not acting quite right was repaired, as was the passenger side door handle that was also sticking at times. A leaking valve that I knew about was also repaired, and other minor things like that.
All of it, except the oil change and clamp repair was done under warranty. That was cool. The truck was in the shop all day and I got out without paying for much more than the oil change. We bought extended warranty coverage when we bought the truck. It expires at 500,000 miles. With 425,000 miles now on the truck, we are paying closer attention to minor squeaks and rattles that could be easily put off. Looking back, spending the money for extended warranty coverage was a good move. We spent less for the coverage than we would have spent on repairs. The piece of mind the coverage provides is also important.
• I woke up this morning in the parking lot of ARI in Shipshewana Indiana. ARI made the sleeper we have on our truck. I am here to get some minor repairs made. Actually, as I look at the list, I wonder if the trip was worth making. Maybe I should have waited until we were in the neighborhood instead of making a special trip. But with Diane gone, I have the time. The free sleeper inspection ARI does and free shore power available to customers helped draw me in. I may stay a few days so I don't have to run the generator or go to an RV park or hotel.
Diane woke up this morning at home, where she is for a week to help out on a family mission. She will return to the truck late Sunday night. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Wednesday, November 4, 2009 I learned today how much I enjoy Diane's company and rely on her in the life we share. Learned by missing her.
Diane is home in Minnesota for a week on a family mission. I stayed with the truck in Indiana to get some truck work done. She will fly back to the truck Sunday night. With the truck work mostly done, I have lots of time on my hands and am spending it on Operation Streamline and trading.
I originally intended to complete Operation Streamline before getting back into trading. Having taken a break from trading to complete Operation Streamline, I found that trading is not something that is easily resumed once it is left to sit.
Trading is a mental activity that requires time and concentration. As with physical exercise, if you do not regularly do it, you get out of shape and it takes effort to get back into the groove. For that reason, I will move forward by balancing my free time between practice trading and Operation Streamline. I got in a few hours of screen time last night. It felt good to be back at it.
Operation Streamline will not continue forever. Big chunks have been completed. The urgent items are resolved. The remaining tasks will further streamline our expediting business and create more time to trade.
• Diane woke up this morning at home. I woke up in the ARI parking lot in Shipshewana, Indiana. I am staying here until Friday because of the free shore power connection ARI provides. Plugging the sleeper into the electrical outlet provides all the power I need to heat and cool the sleeper and run the appliances. Water is also available here too, making it easy to refill the tank after using the truck shower. With shore power available, I will not need to run the generator. That saves fuel and generator wear and tear.
They not only build a fantastic product at ARI and provide excellent service after the sale, they are good people too. I deeply appreciate the hospitality they have extended by letting me stay here until Diane returns.
I could check into a hotel but the only things I would have there that I do not have here is a TV and laundry facilities. I don't need to do laundry. Diane did it before she left. I don't want to watch TV. What a wasteland!
I spent some time watching TV yesterday in the ARI customer lounge while they were working on the truck. With over 100 channels, I found nothing worth the time to watch. By choice, we have no TV in the truck. Yesterday's time watching TV confirmed, once again, that the best TV is no TV.
So as to not spend all my time in the truck, I will take walks into town and back. ARI offers a loaner car free of charge but I will decline. The walks will do me more good.
Shipshewana is Amish country. The road shoulders are paved. The Amish people run their horse-drawn wagons on the shoulders. The paved shoulders make for a nice walk, but because of the horses, I will need to step carefully.
I do not know the rules of the road for when a pedestrian meets an Amish wagon on the road shoulder. Pedestrians walk on the shoulder facing the motor traffic. Amish wagons move at a quick trot in the direction of motor traffic. When I walk on the shoulder and meet an Amish wagon head on, do I yield to it and move to the left or right? Does the wagon driver steer his or her horse to one side or another? Do I leap frantically into the ditch to avoid becoming an Amish road kill? Today will be my day to find out. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Thursday, November 5, 2009 I learned today (actually yesterday) that while horses have four legs, they produce only one clip and one clop when they trot. Learned by listening to the clip-clop, clip-clop as horses trotted by.
Obviously, I know little about horses. This bit I learned while walking the streets of Shipshewana, Indiana, where I happen to be. Today is the same as yesterday, except today, I know it is the pedestrian that yields when a pedestrian and Amish wagon meet.
Today is the same as yesterday.
Wow! I have not said that in a while. It takes me back to when Diane and I had "real" jobs. The workday commute was the same, day after day, as were the workplace and co-workers. I like trucking more.
Yes, today, I happen to be sitting in a quiet Indiana town where everything except the Subway store closes at 7:00 p.m. With Diane home for the week on a family mission and me out of service in the truck, we have made no money since last Thursday.
Yet, as an independent owner-operator, it is within my power to change my location and circumstances at will. I could go into service and run the truck solo until Diane returns. I could stay out of service but relocate to a more happening place. I am where I am by choice, for the reasons explained in this week's blog posts.
I woke up this morning in Shipshewana, Indiana, feeling content and free. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Friday, November 6, 2009 I learned today that I am eligible for a free hotel room. Learned from Diane who told me.
That's good news. Diane is home for a week on a family mission. I have been in Indiana with the truck. She will return Sunday night. Having been sitting in the truck for a week, I was thinking it might be good to get a hotel room for a night or two. While the truck provides all the comforts of home and I am comfortable, it might be good to get out of it for a day before Diane returns. She is ready to get back in the truck. I don't want to be ready to get out of it when we go back in service and start hauling freight.
The hotel information came in the mail at home. The points we accumulated at our September hotel stay are enough to pay for a free room for a night. We seldom stay at hotels because we have everything we need in the truck. September was an exception then explained.
• Spending time away from Diane brings to mind the men who are apart from their wives, not by choice like I am this week, but because of duty or economic necessity. The deployed soldiers of course come to mind. So do the men (and perhaps some women) who took over-the-road truck driving jobs, not because they wanted to, but because they would be otherwise unemployed.
I miss Diane but it is nothing serious. She will be back in the truck Sunday night. It is not necessary, but if it was, I could drive home from Indiana and be there in less than 11 hours (one driving shift under the hours of service rules). We are apart, but not far apart or long apart.
I can't imagine driving a truck away from home and family when you don't want to be in a truck or out on the road at all. The guys that are out there doing it as you read this are tougher than me. If I was in their shoes, I would not be for long.
If I was not a trucker because I wanted to be, I would not be a trucker at all. Life on the road is fantastic for those who embrace it. It is hell for those who do not. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Saturday, November 7, 2009 I learned today what the town of Bluffton, Indiana looks like. Learned by driving through it before checking into a hotel here.
• I enjoy driving our truck, I really do. So does Diane. Which, if you think about it, is a good thing; since we spend a great deal of time driving the truck.
I was reminded of the pleasure of driving last night. Having not driven the truck since Tuesday, it felt wonderful to be behind the wheel again and rolling down the road.
I woke up this morning in front of our Volvo dealer in Fort Wayne, Indiana. A seat arm rest that was ordered on Monday came in and I returned to have it installed. When I was here on Monday, I did not think to ask them about the (imitation) chrome surface that is peeling off the truck grill. It is a good thing I asked later. It turned out that the grill was also covered by our extended warranty plan.
Delightful! New grills cost $680. Not thinking it was a warranty item, I have been checking truck junk yards here and there with no success. Now we have a brand new grill on the truck at no new cost.
• I am now counting the hours, not days, until Diane returns to the truck. It will be good to have her back. I'm in a hotel now for reasons explained yesterday. The truck is clean inside and out. The tires are properly inflated. All fluids are topped off. We will be back in service on Monday and ready to rock and roll!
Did I mention we have a shiny new grill on the truck? Woo Hoo! Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Sunday, November 8, 2009 I learned today my productivity results for the past week. Learned by reviewing them.
Diane will return to the truck at midnight tonight. She has been home for a week on a family mission. After meeting new friends for breakfast in Atlanta, Georgia last Saturday, we drove to Indianapolis, Indiana where Diane caught a Sunday morning flight home. We came to Indiana so I could get some truck maintenance and minor repairs done by vendors we trust. When they were complete, I remained in Indiana to do other work and await Diane's return.
Performance-wise, I give myself an A for the truck work, a B for getting in some practice trading and a C- on Operation Streamline. Had I been more focused and disciplined in using my days of uninterrupted free time, the grades would have been better. I'm not going to beat myself up too much about that. On all fronts, forward progress was made. While the volume of good work was not as great as it could have been, the direction was right. Because of the Operation Streamline work completed this week, less of it lies ahead.
The most significant event of the week was Diane's absence from the truck. Since we took up life together 14 years ago, we have never been apart for more than a few days. This was a long week. Next time we have the option of Diane going home for a week while I stay out on the road, I think we will choose to go home together.
We are frequently asked by non-trucking couples, how can you be together 24-7? The way I feel this morning, I would ask them, how can you not?
We got into trucking partly to spend more time together. We did not enjoy driving separate directions to work five or six days a week. This week apart demonstrates just how good of a decision it was to together take up life on the road. We know full well that many happily-married couples would kill each other if they moved into the small space of a truck and were together 24-7. They are no less happy in their marriage than we are in ours. Trucking is not for everyone.
We feel grateful and blessed to have found this groove and to be a team that works well together in the business we share, enjoys each other's company and loves life on the road.
• I woke up this morning in a hotel in Bluffton, Indiana. Diane woke up at home in Minnesota. Tomorrow morning we will wake up together in the truck.
I stayed in the hotel until checkout time and then moved into the truck. Having nowhere to be until midnight, that's where I went. Nowhere. I passed the afternoon in the hotel parking lot.
Before sundown, I enjoyed a peaceful, back-road drive through the Indiana harvest. They seem to have not passed open burning laws here. The smell of burning leaves filled the towns I drove through and parts of the countryside.
I next entered Indianapolis and found a parking lot in which I could pass more time. I am sitting in it now, writing this blog entry and waiting for Diane.
Diane's flight is on time. In two hours I will drive the truck to the airport to pick her up. We will likely return to this parking lot to spend the night.
Having been missing her for a week, I want to welcome Diane home with a really nice parking lot. I took some care in picking this one out. It is clean (no litter), quiet (recession-induced vacancies in the nearby buildings mean no trash trucks will wake us in the morning), and reasonably safe (no gang graffiti, pawn shops, razor wire fences or bars on building windows). I hope she likes it. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Monday, November 9, 2009 I learned today that our bank is raising the interest rate it charges on our credit cards. Learned from a notification we received.
That is no problem. We use credit cards only for the transaction convenience they provide in making routine purchases. They are paid off every month. The notification reinforces my belief that debt is evil. Lenders use it to transfer money from your pocket to theirs. More importantly, debt transfers your personal power and freedom to other people.
If you owe other people money, you give them the ability to negatively affect your life. A boost in credit card interest rates is one example. For people who carry credit card balances, such a boost keeps the people working just as hard for their money but leaving them with less of it. They did nothing to trigger the boost. The bank imposed it on them at will, for the sole purpose of moving money onto the bank's bottom line.
Debt rules can change. You might take out a mortgage or car loan under certain terms and things may go fine for a while. Then the company that made the loan may sell your obligation to pay to someone else. Or the company may be taken over by another company or forced into bankruptcy. If your lender goes bankrupt, your obligation to pay does not go away. It ends up in the hands of someone else. Under any of these scenarios, certain contract provisions may be triggered or the rules themselves may be changed such that your money gets transferred into other people's pockets in ways you did not anticipate and cannot control.
That is why I say debt is evil. If you have no debt, the lenders and rule makers do not have the power to use your obligation to pay against you. They can change the rates and rules all they want. If you have no debt, you are free.
• Diane and I woke up this morning in a parking lot in Indianapolis, Indiana. Did you hear that? "Diane and I!" She is back in the truck and we quickly settled into our normal routine. Except that it feels really, really good to have her back.
We are going about our usual business, but it is different in that I feel a happy lift. If I was a dog, I would be yapping and jumping and wagging my tail with more than the usual enthusiasm, and I would be keeping Diane under my adoring gaze more than normal.
Woof, woof! Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Tuesday, November 10, 2009 I learned today that citizen journalists can't handle the truth. Learned by reading this article.
I was moving toward this conclusion before reading the piece. Last June, while we were home, I spent a day attending a Citizen Journalism Academy, presented by the Society of Professional Journalists (details). I continue to follow and sometimes have direct contact with some of the professional journalists and media scholars I interacted with back in my political days (info here). As a blogger and truck industry writer, I have been watching and participating in the emergence of social networking sites of various kinds (Twitter, Facebook, ExpeditersOnline, etc.).
Citizen journalism is a developing component of this and has been interesting to watch. While there are those who take great joy in the rise of citizen journalism, I am not among them. The Fort Hood shooting and the sad way so-called citizen journalists rose to talk about it shows why.
I do not say the way citizen journalists "rose to report." I say the way citizen journalists "rose to talk." Professional, objective, responsible reporting is a skill exercised by trained journalists. There are important differences between professional reporting and citizen blathering. They are well explained in the article referenced above.
Professional journalists, especially the high profile, highly compensated ones, are often accused of selling out. They are said to be sacrificing their professional ethics and using their skills to acquire fame and fortune. If there actually is an emerging group of everyday people out there rising to claim the citizen journalist title, they will do well to buy into the professional ethics and skills of the Fourth Estate.
• We drove overnight from our Fort Wayne, Indiana pickup to our Pennsylvania delivery. At the moment, it is 4:17 a.m. The truck is backed up to a loading dock. I am sitting up with the freight — in attendance of the load, as they say — until 8:00, when people will show up for work and accept the delivery. When the delivery is made, we will proceed immediately to our next pickup and deliver that load in Delaware later today.
Once Diane got back into the truck, it did not take long to get busy. We got dispatched within hours and pre-dispatched on the next load before we delivered the first. We are back in the saddle again! Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Wednesday, November 11, 2009 I learned today nothing new, but it is early.
I don't have a lot of time to think or blog right now. The freight has kept us running and I am focused on it.
Diane returned to the truck early Monday morning (around 1:00 a.m.). We were dispatched later that morning and drove to Fort Wayne, Indiana for an afternoon pickup. That freight ran us overnight to a Tuesday morning delivery in Pennsylvania. We went next to a nearby pickup and delivered that freight Tuesday afternoon in Delaware.
Before delivering that load, we were dispatched to pick up a load at 10:00 this morning in New Jersey. Today's pickup is 175 miles from the Delaware delivery. We deadheaded toward it last night, treated ourselves to a hot meal at the Petro truck stop in Bordentown, New Jersey, and went to bed early so we will be fresh for today's run. It will keep us running 24 hours and deliver tomorrow in Minnesota.
In other words, we are in a drive-sleep mode now, and for good reason. The freight is good. The money is good. Every load this week, except the first one, has been pre-dispatched (no waiting for freight between loads). One load paid us $600 to drive 100 miles. Today's 1,200 mile run to the Midwest pays over $2.00 a mile, all miles. It helps to have done all necessary maintenance on the truck last week when Diane was gone. The truck is cleaned up, tuned up and ready to roll.
When expediters find themselves in a good groove like this, the wise ones know to not break the streak. Make hay when the sun shines. Don't interrupt the flow. Don't give in to the fat and happy feeling that comes with making money. Don't take time off. Don't go home. Stay focused on the freight and stay in the money stream. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Thursday, November 12, 2009 I learned today what it is like to drive a scenic back road near home. Learned by doing it for the first time.
If you are thinking, "Scenic back road near home, didn't he just say yesterday, don't go home?" you are thinking the same thing we are. Yesterday, we were feeling the money flow. Today, we are home.
This morning's delivery was in Winona, Minnesota, not far from our home. After the delivery, we went to a Wal-Mart to re-supply the truck and take a nap. We stayed in service and intended to keep running. There was no reason whatsoever to go home. Diane had just been there all last week on a family mission. It has been months since I have been home. While it would have been nice to lay eyes on the place, it was not necessary for me to go. Being in the money groove like I talked about yesterday, we wanted to keep running.
Safety issues and the freight combined to produce a different result. Soon after arriving at the Wal-Mart, we received and declined a lousy load offer. The offer was received again an hour later but at pay that made it almost worth taking. The load picked up immediately in Wisconsin and would have had us drive overnight to Ohio.
The load would have kept us running positioned us well for a possible Friday pickup but we turned it down. Without a good morning nap, we would be too tired to drive overnight. In the interests of safety and to get the sleep we needed, we took ourselves out of service until 6:00 p.m. and went home to sleep. The scenic road mentioned above was a first for both of us. We took it not for the scenery but because it was the most direct route.
Home offered showers and a parking place that was more secure. Once we were parked in our driveway, we stayed in the truck and took a good snooze. Waking later in the day, we went back in service and took showers. Unfortunately, no load offers came. It looks like we will be spending the night at home, in service and waiting for freight. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Friday, November 13, 2009 I learned today about another scenic road near home (like I did yesterday). Learned by taking the road.
We woke up this morning at home, in service and waiting for freight. Minneapolis is our home express center. It is usually pretty good for getting freight that takes us out. Not today. The phone was quiet all morning. Late in the afternoon, an offer came in that we accepted. It was a short, freight-rescue run from Eau Claire, Wisconsin to Winona, Minnesota.
A freight rescue happens when routine freight becomes hot freight for one reason or another. When the freight becomes hot, an expediter is called in to pluck it out of whatever system it is in and transport it immediately and directly to the delivery.
We arrived at the transportation company's loading dock. The man there emphasized how hot the freight was as he immediately put the skid on our truck. It was hot because the skid had been delivered to the wrong address and was now late at the right address.
The route from Eau Claire to Winona took us along a Wisconsin state road that reminded us of the narrow, twisting roads of West Virginia. I grew up in Wisconsin but this was a new road to me. It was a scenic country drive and a real treat.
When we arrived at the delivery, the consignee was thrilled to receive the freight. He had not expected to see it until Monday. At the delivery, the load turned into one that required the use of our pallet jack, lift gate and me to move the items inside (inside delivery). Since this was not a White Glove load, those extras meant extra money for us.
After the delivery, we remained in service and went back home to wait for freight. We were amused by our second delivery to Winona in two days. In six years on the road, we have never before delivered in Winona. While do not need or want to go home, the freight put us close two days in a row. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Saturday, November 14, 2009 I learned today about a building that was built with no bathrooms and the error was not discovered until after the building was completed. Learned from Diane who told me the story that she had read years ago.
We woke up this morning at home, in service and waiting for freight. Only one low-paying offer was received, which we declined. We don't run freight to lose money or break even. If the freight don't pay, we don't play.
Diane's story came up after a driver friend of ours told us about a pickup gone bad. He went to a shipper yesterday to get freight but was unable to get his big rig to the loading docks because the company built a new building in front of them. Apparently, this was the first time a truck came in after the building was built. Our friend said people became very worried as they realized a huge mistake had been made and they could no longer get trucks to their docks.
This is a story only a trucker can love. We know how essential trucks are to keeping America moving. Few non-truckers do. This is a case where people who once had trucks available to them no longer do. It is amusing and gratifying to see people realize — for real — how important trucks are to their business.
It's not OK to be without trucks. If another solution is not developed, that brand new building will be torn down to let the trucks through. People can get along without new buildings. They cannot get along without trucks. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Sunday, November 15, 2009 I learned today that barbershop quartets still exist and compete. Learned by visiting with a barbershop quartet singer at church this morning.
We woke up this morning at home, in service and waiting for freight. With the phone being quiet this weekend, we took a gamble and rode to to church with a relative instead of taking the truck. Had an offer for an immediate pickup come in, church is close enough that we could have made it back to the truck in ten minutes.
I kept the car keys. If necessary, we would have left the relative behind and rushed back to the truck. Friends at church or other family members who knew the situation would have gotten the relative home. No offers came so it did not matter.
A visiting barbershop quartet sang in church this morning. As I listened, I remembered other barbershop quartets I have heard over the years. Until today, it has been decades since I heard one sing. I remembered how much I enjoyed them in the past and was saddened to realize that these happy memories had been long buried. It was a real treat to hear these men's voices fill every corner of the sanctuary and resonate in my chest.
Wanting to know more about the state of barbershop quartets today, I asked. One of the singers told me of competitive events and gave me this web site for info.
We returned home from church and continued to wait for freight. One offer came that we declined because of low pay. That was it for the day, so here we sit, still waiting.
I spent a good part of the day doing computer maintenance and backups. We keep an external hard drive at home. If our computers on the road were lost or destroyed, we could recover our files from the external drive.
I also spent some time enjoying YouTube videos of barbershop groups. Now that we know how to find them, we will be keeping an eye open for barbershop events as we travel. This is great stuff! Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
We woke up this morning at home, in service and waiting for freight. We had suspicions before and now know why the freight has slowed for us. Our TVAL flag has lapsed and it makes a difference.
With our carrier, different trucks have different credentials. Each credential is called a flag. The more flags you have, the more types of freight you are eligible to haul. Our truck is flagged for a lift gate, reefer, team drivers, etc. TVAL is the abbreviation for temperature validated. It is reefer freight (temperature controlled) for which the temperature is documented while in transit. A lot of the freight we haul is TVAL freight.
To maintain our TVAL flag, our reefer must be serviced and temperature validation equipment must be tested and re-certified every six months. That can be done on the road by certain reefer dealers. Once every 18 months, we must also go to our carrier's headquarters for additional tests.
Our TVAL flag lapsed on October 31. We have not gone in for testing because we will soon install a new reefer engine. Re-powering the reefer will require us to go to Ohio to have the system re-certified with the new engine. If we went in now, we would have to make the same trip again after the new engine is installed.
The reefer engine we have now works perfectly well. The only reason we are replacing it is we won some government grant money to replace it with a newer and somewhat cleaner-burning engine. The grant money is clean-air money, provided by the federal government and administered by the states.
By waiting to get the engine installed, we avoid two certification trips to Ohio and the down time that such trips involve. The problem is we also lose the chance to haul high-paying freight because we are not TVAL flagged. A TVAL load was dispatched this morning out of Minneapolis. We would have gotten the load but did not because we are not TVAL flagged.
TVAL is a very important part of our business. It is frustrating to see the freight slow while we wait for the new reefer engine. The delay is caused by slow government bureaucrats at the federal and state levels. We cannot proceed with the new engine until the paperwork clears. They tell us it will come any day, but they have been saying that for weeks. Until they come through, we are in reefer-engine limbo.
We have the option of going to Ohio and getting certified with the old engine. If we do not see action from the bureaucrats soon, we may do so. We are fast approaching the point where making two trips to Ohio will be cheaper than forfeiting the TVAL freight we would otherwise haul. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Due to bureaucratic delays and ineptitude, federal money that was designed to stimulate the economy and promote the use of cleaner-burning diesel engines remains bottled up. The money cannot be spent because the required paperwork has not been completed. The paperwork has not been completed because it sits on bureaucrat's desks. Why it sits on bureaucrat's desks has not been explained. We ask, but vague answers, statements like "it's complicated" and "we are doing the best we can," and unfulfilled promises of future action are all that are obtained.
Four months ago (four months!), we were notified that we won the grant that we earlier applied for under the Minnesota Clean Diesel program. The money was to be used to pay 75 percent of the cost of swapping our present reefer engine for a new, cleaner burning one. While the other 25 percent of the cost would come out of our pocket, it seemed like a good deal at the time.
It is not a good deal any more. Losing our TVAL flag (explained in yesterday's blog entry) to bureaucratic delays is costing us more than $5,000 in lost revenue. It's amazing. The government wants to give us $5,000, but because four months have passed and the agencies have still failed to distribute the funds, we can no longer afford to wait on the money.
We are now deadheading (driving our truck with no revenue-producing freight on board) to our carrier's headquarters in Ohio to complete the training and equipment testing needed to get our TVAL flag reinstated.
With the benefit of hindsight, it probably would have been better to not apply for this grant at all. The whole thing has turned into a massive waste of time, effort and money. When our TVAL flag expired on October 31, the Minnesota Clean Diesel delays started costing more than just time, it cost money too. It is now better to relegate the $5,000 of delayed grant money to the back burner, reinstate our TVAL flag and do the business we can do right now.
Our present reefer engine runs just fine. It has been almost trouble free the entire time we have owned it. It remains legal to run it under current law for several more years. A new engine would have extended the useful life of our reefer into a future in which the emissions laws will be more stringent.
Because of the delays, we are now prepared to give up on the Clean Diesel program altogether and buy that new engine later with our own money, a few years down the road. It is less expensive to do that than it is to forfeit a growing total of TVAL revenue while we wait on bureaucrats.
They are aware of our situation and the importance of maintaining our TVAL flag. We have informed four of them at various times in this four month ordeal. Only one of them seems to actually care about meeting our needs and, of course, the matter is now out of his hands.
After four months, it is now crystal clear that it matters little to the U.S. EPA and the Minnesota PCA that the allocated money actually gets distributed and the economic stimulus and environmental benefits are thereby realized. It matters only that they can justify the delays in ways that keep their bosses off their backs.
I am now pulling together the details and composing complaint letters to the President, Governor, federal and state agency heads, and federal and state legislators. As a citizen and taxpayer, I am deeply troubled to see grant recipients left hanging like this and the benefits of allocated funds unrealized.
What good does it do to appropriate stimulus money if the money is not spent? What good does it do to fund cleaner-burning engines if the engines are not purchased? How are citizens served when they are asked to pour hours of time into grant applications and follow-up work, and are then left to wait for months for nothing, even after they win the grant?
And what of the time wasted by the three vendors who in good faith prepared the competitive bids required as part of the grant application? Had we known that they would have no chance at selling us a new reefer engine anytime soon, we would not have made a pest of ourselves and wasted their time by asking for meaningless bids.
Finally, the award was actually $16,000. We turned down all but $5,000 of it earlier for reasons that in the interest of brevity are not explained here. That is another story which I will share in the letters I write to public officials and will then share here on my web site.
We have not officially declined the grant but have given up on the idea that it is financially beneficial for us to accept. We will continue the process to see how things actually turn out. It might make sense to proceed with the new engine, but until we know when and how the process can actually be completed, we must proceed on the assumption that the grant is meaningless.
We have a business to run. We make money by hauling freight, not by waiting on bureaucrats. If they want the economic and environmental benefits of the Clean Diesel program to be realized, it falls to them to provide the funds, and not to us to sacrifice our revenue. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Wednesday, November 18, 2009 I learned today the contents of the current FedEx Custom Critical contractor manual. Learned by reading it.
We woke up early this morning in Ohio, in our carrier's parking lot. We are here to complete TVAL training and equipment testing (explained above). Testing normally begins at 4:00 a.m. but was delayed until 5:00 a.m. because of the small number of trucks that are here to test. Training began at 6:00 a.m. Including breakfast at our desks, it continued until about 10:30. The equipment test will continue through noon tomorrow. It involves running the reefer for 18 hours and putting it through some paces.
The reason for the ungodly start time is to get us out of here in less than two days. This is a welcome improvement over the time this testing and training used to take. Expediters are accustomed to working in irregular hours. I felt sorry for the pour souls who usually work nine to five but sometimes have to come in to conduct the tests and training.
TVAL shipments are very involved. Without the support of these office people and the ongoing work they do with customers to help make the shipments successful, we would not be able to put this high-value freight on our truck at all. The pain of maintaining our personal and equipment TVAL qualifications is exceeded by the gain.
Having some time to ourselves after class, Diane and I used it to visit with a number of dispatchers and office people. I also snagged a fresh copy of the owner-operator manual. Giving it a careful read is helping me re-think our relationship with our carrier; something we do from time to time.
We are predispatched. As soon as testing it complete tomorrow,we will depart to pick up freight. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Thursday, November 20, 2009 I learned today a bit more about the life and work of expediting in a tractor-trailer (big-rig, 18-wheeler, semi). Learned by visiting with a big-rig, husband-wife, driving team.
We woke up this morning in a hotel near our carrier's headquarters in Green, Ohio. We were there for TVAL testing (explained above), which was completed today. We were in a hotel because sleeping in your truck overnight in our carrier's parking lot is not permitted, and the truck must remain there while the TVAL test is run.
As expected, it went well. We have a great reefer. It was spec'ed and installed right. We maintain it well. It has been nearly trouble-free in the time we owned it.
The next step is to run a second test while we are running actual reefer freight in real-world conditions. To do that, we need a reefer load, which we were delighted to be pre-dispatched on as we proceeded to today's pickup. The sooner we complete that second test, the sooner we get our TVAL flag reinstated and improve our income stream.
After completing today's portion of the TVAL testing, we drove 120 miles to today's pickup and then drove into the night. The load is an overnight run that delivers tomorrow morning.
Before leaving Ohio, I visited some with the team that was also there to TVAL test. They drive an ER-unit, as FedEx Custom Critical calls it. It is a reefer-equipped big-rig. While talking shop, they shared news of another team that took their former fleet owner to court over truck lease-purchase issues. Sadly, stories like these are not unique.
I do not know the details of this one and have not confirmed it to be true. Diane and I know the team in question. We once ran a load with them. If curiosity gets the best of me, I might dig up their contact information and track down the details. If the case actually did go to court, a public record may exist.
A public record would be of interest because one needs to be very careful when writing about such things. While predatory fleet owners are out there, everyone has rights under slander and libel laws. The desire to write about such things is strong, as I would like to help new people entering the business see what goes on in the rough-and-tumble world of trucking and how some truckers eagerly take unfair advantage of others.
However, the risk is high. If I am not careful about what I write, I might find myself on the receiving end of a summons and complaint. With the risk being high and personal to me, and the benefits being vague and of only general interest to others, the prudent course is to not write about such matters.
That is one of the reasons crooked fleet owners are able to continue to operate. Few people are willing to flush them out into the light. Because drivers and fleet owners are independent contractors, carriers are loathe to get involved in such disputes. They will tell you it is none of their business. In one sense they are absolutely right. But in another sense, it hurts carriers deeply to have a crooked fleet owner operating in good standing with a carrier while the fleet owner cheats others.
This is not the first such story I have heard. These stories often die mid-stream when the crooked fleet owner realizes he or she has a determined plaintiff. The fleet owner settles but includes the condition that the drivers not reveal the details of the case. That frees the fleet owner to find the next sucker with no one being the wiser.
Stories also die because drivers are often not skilled in documenting their facts and even in keeping their own story straight. A genuine crime against a driver may have been committed but because the driver huffs and puffs too much, and to the wrong people, he or she jumbles the information such that it is no longer useful to anyone trying run down the story.
It also happens that a driver thinks he or she has been cheated ,but it did not happen. That does not keep him or her from unfairly trashing (lying about) the fleet owner or blaming the fleet owner for the driver's shortcomings and bad decisions. The driver may be convinced he or she is telling the truth about the fleet owner, but is actually telling a lie.
With so much potential for blurred claims and counter-claims, you can see where documented court cases are of interest. Sadly, the crooked fleet owners are skilled in keeping such documentation under wraps. Also, once a dispute is settled, aggrieved drivers are seldom motivated to get their story out there as a warning to others. Disputes are no fun. When ended, drivers tend to put the disputes behind them and move on. I understand that. Diane and I have done the same thing after resolving disputes with fleet owners and vendors.
Are you one of my readers who is thinking about getting into the expediting business in a fleet owner's truck? Buyer beware! There are fleet owners out there right now that see you as a potential target. They are as eager to cheat you as you are eager to get into the business.
You are looking ahead and thinking about a future in expediting. They are looking ahead and thinking about how they can extract money and free labor from you that they would not otherwise have. In deliberate, calculated and practiced ways, they will take unfair advantage of you if you let them. They have gotten away with it in the past and have no reason to believe they can't get away with it again.
There are several ways corrupt fleet owners unfairly extract money and free labor from their victims. I could write an informative piece on the methods without identifying any fleet owners, but I won't. Doing so would distract me from my Operation Streamline. This blog entry is distraction enough.
As Stephen Covey, author of 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, says, "Begin with the end in mind," and "Put first things first." Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Friday, November 20, 2009 I learned today the back roads and terrain of Northern Missouri. Learned by driving there.
We drove overnight from Columbus, Ohio to a small town in rural Missouri. The run took us through a part of Missouri we had not been through before. It features narrow highways and long distances between small towns.
The drive was fine except when we met oncoming big trucks. There were no shoulders on the road and little room to spare. It did not help that the ground was saturated from heavy rains. Water stood in the farm fields, stopping the harvest. Deep ruts in the ground just off the asphalt let us know to keep the wheels on the road. In places, had we gone off even a tire width, the tires would have sunk into the mud up to the axles.
There was one spot where a mud-soaked combine had come out of a field onto the road. The mud it tracked onto the road messed up our truck as we drove through it. We now have about 50 pounds of dried mud caked under the truck, maybe 100 pounds.
This is one of the very few times I would like to drive in the rain. The water would clean the underside of the truck. Unfortunately, the weather will be beautiful on tonight's overnight run. It is a reefer load, so running the truck through a wash is out. Truck washes don't let us run the reefer when we are inside. The freight is such that the reefer must be continuously run.
We deliver our load tomorrow morning. We are pre-dispatched to pick up another load on Monday. The pickup is about eight hours away from Saturday's delivery. There will be time to get the truck washed over the weekend.
Other than that, there is little to report. We are busy hauling back-to-back loads, driving and sleeping in shifts, and taking naps between loads. While students are occupying a building in California, our nation is at war, the H1N1 flu is killing thousands of people worldwide, the U.S. unemployment rate is over 10 percent, I am complaining about beautiful weather and concerned about about mud on our truck. What's up with that? Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Saturday, November 21, 2009 I learned today the terms and conditions of the grant money we won under the Minnesota Clean Diesel Program. Learned by reviewing them at home when they came in the mail.
At home? you may ask. Yep. Unbelievably, the freight took us home again. In expediting, freight that takes you home at all is rare. The load we delivered this morning originated in Saint Louis and delivered 40 miles from home. Of the last four loads we have hauled, three have taken us home. Unbelievable! This time we are pre-dispatched. We will leave Sunday to pick up a load on Monday.
• Having now received and reviewed the terms and conditions of accepting the Clean Diesel grant money we were awarded, we have decided to decline the money and exit the program.
The government wants to give us $5,000 toward the replacement of our reefer engine with a new one that will reduce emissions. The actual cost is over $7,000 with us making up the difference. The travel and down time needed to re-power and re-certify (TVAL IOQ) the reefer, the invasive disclosure forms, the time required to complete the follow-up reports that will continue after the new reefer engine is installed, and the inclusion of what I consider to be a gag order in the grant agreement makes the terms and conditions administratively unacceptable and financially more expensive than shelling out the $5,000 ourselves when the time comes to replace or upgrade the reefer several years from now.
Declining the grant money is a financially sound decision. It also frees us from dealing with bureaucrats who cannot complete their end, even after four months, but demand a response from us within five days of them mailing out the paperwork.
The agreement is horribly one-sided leaving us with nothing to count on but the good graces of the bureaucrats. If we entered into the agreement and then went public with protests about poor bureaucratic service after receiving the go-ahead to replace the reefer engine at our expense, the promised grant money may not be reimbursed because we may be found to be in violation of the grant agreement publicity clause. The clause requires us to get written permission from the grant administrator before publicizing information about the program. That would likely be a fight we could win on appeal but it would produce more delays and expense.
Having already found all of the people we dealt with to be administratively incompetent and all but one of them to be lacking any concern at all for our circumstances, we are pleased to forfeit the money and exit the program. It saddens me to see such an anti-citizen, bureaucracy-first attitude codified in writing and deeply entrenched in this state government agency and the the federal EPA that is also involved in the program. See also: Tuesday's blog entry.
Update: A few days after saying I would be writing letters to public officials, I changed my mind. The impact of these letters would be minimal. Having already decided to exit the program, the benefit to me personally would be zero. I would be pouring a great deal of time into letter writing for no good end.
This task is now eliminated from my to-do list, my focus is improved and my Operation Streamline continues. Not to brag, but I am a skilled and effective activist (See: my bio). The down side of that is it is all too easy for me to charge into the next crusade. Not this time. I have a business to run and trading skills to develop. Those are crusades enough. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Sunday, November 22, 2009 I learned today more about the streets and attractions of Rochester, Minnesota. Learned by spending time there.
We woke up this morning at home, having delivered freight nearby on Saturday. Our next load picks up tomorrow, about 400 miles away. Not wanting to drive that far on Monday, we headed out today. Not being in a hurry today, we stopped in Rochester to pass some time. After dropping Diane off at the mall where she got a haircut and spent some time at the bookstore, I drove to a movie theater in another part of town.
We left Rochester around sundown (early this time of year) and drove to the Petro truck stop in Portage, Wisconsin to spend the night. We plan to get a truck DOT inspection done there tomorrow before proceeding to the pickup. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Today's Topics: A Warning for Professional Truck Drivers • Today's Activities
A Warning for Professional Truck Drivers
With the long Thanksgiving weekend approaching, the highways and byways will soon be flooded with more than the usual number of non-professional drivers. Many pose special risks to pedestrians, cars, trucks, animals and fixed objects. They add thousands of victims a month to their tally and kill and maim others without a purpose or plan. Once the deed is done, they almost never accept responsibility but seek instead to blame their victims and be absolved in court.
They received virtually no training before being licensed to drive. For most, the training was received years and even decades ago, with no refresher training ever sought or given.
They have not been screened for diabetes, drug use, sleep apnea, epilepsy, high blood pressure and other physical conditions that may impair their driving. They are not required to get any amount of rest before operating their vehicles. Some will depart from a full-day's work, load their family into their car or RV and head out for a long journey with no regard whatsoever for their sleep-deprived state. It is perfectly legal for them to attempt to drive 24 hours without stopping. With no sanctions against it, many push themselves beyond reasonable limits for nothing more than the optional and non-essential task of arriving at a holiday destination.
Trapped in jobs they hate, they know nothing about the love for the road professional drivers enjoy. Their pent-up anger can manifest itself as road rage, leading to unsafe acts that trigger like responses from similarly disposed drivers. These people are time bombs, waiting to go off. They are armed with vehicles that can cause great harm when used as weapons.
Not subject to random drug and alcohol tests like professional truck drivers are, many of these non-professionals will drink and drive on the theory that it is OK because the chances of them being caught are slim. They are less concerned about the threat they pose to themselves and others than they are about taking just one more holiday drink before loading their family back into the car and making the long trip home.
Distracted driving means nothing to these people since they don't believe they are distracted. They don't believe they are distracted because they don't even see the kid on the bike they nearly killed or the truck they nearly drove off the road. They don't see such things because their iPods, PDAs, GPS units, cell phones, laptop computers, illegal dash-mounted DVD players and other such devices occupy their mind and prevent them from seeing the threats their inattentive driving and wandering vehicles pose.
Vehicle maintenance is not required for these people as it is for truck drivers. They have no idea what a pre-trip inspection is, let alone how to do one. While the horsepower under the hood vastly exceeds these people's ability to handle their vehicles, there is nothing like speed limiters, split speed limits or other restrictions to keep certain members of this group from driving faster than is safe.
Be careful out there this Thanksgiving weekend. A deadly swarm of unskilled, untrained, unfit and unconcerned drivers are about to fill the roadways and threaten your life and the lives of those you love.
Diane and I woke up this morning at the Petro truck stop in Portage Wisconsin. After having a truck DOT inspection done and verifying that our carrier received the paperwork and temperature recording devices needed to reinstate our truck's TVAL flag, we headed out to today's pickup. It is an overnight run that delivers tomorrow morning. As usual, we will drive and sleep in shifts to complete this run.
As of 7:30 p.m., we are not pre-dispatched. Notwithstanding the above warning, but being mindful of it, we plan to remain in service and available to haul freight over the long weekend. Until we are dispatched on a load or find ourselves laid over someplace on Thanksgiving Day, we have no idea what this year's Thanksgiving will look like.
Each year, I write a Thanksgiving story that tells how we spent that holiday. You can find them on this page: Phil Madsen's Stories From the Road. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Tuesday, November 24, 2009 I learned today where we will be spending Thanksgiving Day. Learned when we were dispatched on a load that keeps us running over the holiday.
That's what we were hoping for, freight that would keep us running over the holiday. We picked up yesterday's load in downtown Chicago, Illinois and delivered it in New Jersey this morning. Minutes before the delivery, we got dispatched to proceed immediately to today's pickup about 80 miles away.
This is a 1,800 mile run, lucrative too. It does not deliver until Friday morning, which gives us all kinds of time to get it there. It is not a load that requires us to stay awake with the freight, so we will not have to drive and sleep in shifts to keep the truck rolling 'round the clock. It's a nice run with time to work in a proper Thanksgiving dinner along the way. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Wednesday, November 25, 2009 I learned today this phrase, "... work on the task that you believe will yield the greatest long-term payoff until true urgency requires that you switch." Learned by reading it in Steve Pavlina's online article, Conscious Procrastination.
As I my Operation Streamline continues, it helps to read pieces like this to stay focused. I am just two tasks away from an important task-list milestone. I'll talk about that when the tasks are complete.
• We woke up this morning in a freeway rest area after getting an uninterrupted night of sleep in a non-moving truck. We are on an 1,800 mile run that began yesterday. The delivery is set for Friday morning. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day. We do not yet know where we will eat a Thanksgiving meal. Dinner plans cannot be made until we have a better idea of where we will be. We might do something on Friday instead. We'll see. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Thursday, November 26, 2009 (Thanksgiving Day) 
I learned today the things I am grateful for. Learned by reviewing the list.
The list is as you might expect. I am grateful for God's grace, my wife Diane, family members and friends, the life and work on the road that Diane and I enjoy together, the prosperity our business has brought, our good health, etc., etc., etc.
I am also grateful for my blog readers, and since I am here talking to you, let me go into that a bit more.
I began this blog as an exercise in self-expression and it remains mostly that. Compared to more serious bloggers, I have done very little to promote this blog or draw more eyes to it. I don't run ads on the blog or try to sell anything. I don't expect to make money with it. I just babble away, sharing my thoughts and feelings as they flow. Yet when I think about the people who have identified themselves as readers and shared their responses, I am amazed, humbled and grateful.
• When people say they read my blog and then contact me with questions about expediting, it warms my heart that I can be of service. For that, I am grateful.
• When a financial research analyst says he reads my blog for its trucking industry insights, it motivates me to look and listen all the more. For that, I am grateful.
• When long-lost friends find me through my blog, the relationships are renewed. For that, I am grateful.
• When journalists quote my blog, it humbles me that I am selected as a source. For that, I am grateful.
• When friends and family members use my blog to keep track of our travels, it keeps us close. For that, I am grateful.
• When people who will never be truckers say they experience the trucking life by proxy through my blog, it adds meaning to the experiences Diane and I have. For that, I am grateful.
• When traders write and share their tips, it helps me develop my trading skills. For that, I am grateful.
• When readers discover we are in their area and they reach out to meet, it makes the road feel more like home. For that, I am grateful.
• When fellow expediters share their feedback and business insights, it helps me better understand our business. For that I am grateful.
• When two published authors are working together on a book about truckers and use my blog as a resource, they honor me with the opportunity to help them get it right. For that, I am grateful.
• When readers take the time to point out my typos and web site malfunctions, it shows they are following my blog with genuine interest. For that, I am grateful.
• When readers say they were amused by something I wrote, I feel good. For that, I am grateful.
This blog has turned into something entirely different than I thought it would be when it began. It is not the blog that produces the above results, it is the readers.
For you, dear readers, I am grateful.
Happy Thanksgiving to you all. I invite you to take some quiet time of your own today to bring your blessings to mind, and let the warm glow of gratitude fill your heart. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Friday, November 27, 2009 No blog entry today. I wrote this piece instead. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Saturday, November 28, 2009 I learned today that "If you aren't inspired by your daily work, admit that you made a mistake in choosing the wrong career path; then seek out a new direction that does inspire you." Learned by re-reading this piece by Steve Pavlina.
There is no doubt that Diane and I are on the right career path and are inspired by it. I am contemplating these words not with our career in mind, but with my task list in view. I am thinking about the difference between the tasks that inspire me and those that do not; about those I am happy to do, those I am not, and why I think and feel about them the way I do.
Having made good progress in my Operation Streamline, I continue to find procrastination to be a hard-to-ditch behavior pattern. Having solved big chunks of the procrastination puzzle, the little pieces now have my attention. I don't want to make too much of the procrastination problem. Overcoming procrastination is not the goal. Achieving my desired results is.
• We woke up early yesterday morning in a hotel parking lot in Aurora, Colorado and then drove a short distance to deliver the freight we picked up in Pennsylvania last Tuesday. We next went to the Flying J truck stop in Aurora to take a morning nap and wait for freight. We did not intend it to be so, but the day turned into a social day.
After waking from our nap, I made a minor repair to the truck (freed up sticky hinges on the liftgate pump box) and then went inside to get a haircut. Checking phone messages on the way in, I learned that expediter friends of ours were also at the Flying J. They had spotted our truck and called. We ended up visiting with them for a while.
Next came a call from a friend who once lived in Minnesota and worked closely with me in my political days. She knew we were in town and had changed her schedule so we could meet. We drove 20 miles to a restaurant she recommended where we met and I ate buffalo meat for the first time. The meat was good, though it was a little unnerving to eat it while the buffalo head mounted on the wall glared down at me from on high.
That is not a political statement; guilt-free meat eater here. I cannot imagine a more self-absorbed way to pretend to make a difference than by declaring the world to be a better place because of what you eat.
That's the ticket! Cattle farmers be damned. I'm going to eat my way to a better world!
Poppycock.
That said, my favorite vegetarian once wrote, "I'm not a vegetarian because I love animals. I'm a vegetarian because I hate plants."
After dinner and a nice visit with our friend, Diane and I returned to the truck and headed toward Kansas City. With Denver being a slow express center, seven trucks there, three of them ahead of us in line, two of those having less-than-75 status, and the freight itself slowed by the long holiday weekend, it seemed fruitless to wait for freight there. Deciding to go to Kansas City, we drove east on I-70 and stopped at the first rest area out of town to spend the night.
It is a full day's drive to Kansas City. That takes a bite out of the profit we earned on the load that took us from Pennsylvania to Denver but that load paid exceptionally well. Even with the deadhead miles, we are money-ahead by driving to Kansas City. Doing so better positions us to get freight on the truck on Monday or before.
We woke without alarms this morning and continued our trip to Kansas City. One stop was made at a Home Depot. Our reefer needed a minor repair. An externally mounted device (Trailer Tracks) is normally held on with two self-tapping screws. One vibrated loose and fell off. Until I made the repair, the device was held in place by one screw and a generous helping of duct tape.
The repair was about as non-technical as they come, but I didn't want to begin work until I was close to where new bolts are sold. If I did not already have a bolt in my toolbox I could buy one without having to secure the reefer, drive to a store, and then open the reefer a second time to make the repair. As it turned out, I had the bolts and used two to attach the device to the reefer. They will last where the screws would not.
That's my day: a little driving, some personal-productivity navel gazing, meaningful hardware interaction and an ice cream cone. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Sunday, November 29, 2009 I learned today, that today, is the day, I reached a milestone of sorts in my Operation Streamline. Learned by reaching the milestone.
I had no set schedule to reach this point but now have reached it. Except for the tasks that are required by law and business necessity, every task that now lies ahead is a task that I want to do. Every item that I have promised to complete for others is complete.
I am also free of numerous tasks I had promised myself. They really weren't promises but more like really-great, really-cool, or really-fun projects I started or wanted to start. It took some doing, but I gave that up as a bad habit. I don't start projects on a whim any more. I abandoned a bunch and am now very careful when taking on new ones.
There are many ways to categorize tasks. Some are important, some are not. Some are urgent, some are not. Some are required by other people, like a business assignment. Some are created by yourself, like when you set a goal or agree to do something for someone else. There are tasks you get to do and tasks you have to do. There are tasks you want to do and tasks you do not want to do.
My list of have-to tasks is now reduced to routine and ongoing items necessary in running our business. They include things like greasing the truck, keeping my log book up to date, doing truck inspections, keeping business records and filing tax returns. Some of these are required by law. Some are necessary, like if the truck is not greased and otherwise maintained, it will fail.
Many if not all of my have-to tasks are more enjoyable and less burdensome than they used to be. I'm not playing catch-up any more. While more improvement can be made, our business administration procedures have been streamlined.
Putting it another way, the guilt is gone.
I am not mad at myself anymore for being behind, because I am not behind. I do not feel ashamed about unfinished work I promised to others, because there is no such unfinished work. I'm not feeling stupid and beating myself up about doing business paperwork the hard way, because because easier and better ways have been developed and continue to improve.
Part of overcoming procrastination is overcoming the fear of the unknown. If you feel guilty about being behind in your tasks, you know exactly how that feels and how it will feel tomorrow if you don't change. While guilt might be uncomfortable, stepping into the unknown may be more so.
How would it feel if you are caught up in your work and felt guilty no more? Would you feel less needed or less important because you are no longer under pressure to perform for others? Finding out means stepping out of old habits and into an unknown way of being. That can be scary. Clinging to the guilt you know may be the more comfortable way.
So instead of getting clear of old tasks and moving into the unknown, stick with what you know. Make some promises you don't need to make. Start some projects you don't need to start. Lose yourself in a new or renewed cause. Avoid the uncertainty of an unknown future by cluttering up the present with tasks that will keep you behind.
To do's are what matter here and now.
To an uncertain freedom, never bow.
Create more tasks and don't set goals.
Guilt is a friend to held close in the soul.
That was my plan up to today.
Streamlined now, I'm on my way.
• We woke up this morning at the Petro truck stop in Oak Grove, Missouri. We arrived here last night after deadheading from Denver. We are in service and waiting for freight. As of 10:30 p.m., no load offers have been received. It looks like we will be spending the night here. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Monday, November 30, 2009 I learned today that fitness feels better than sweetness tastes, and that gains in personal productivity come not from doing more but from doing less. Learned by waking this morning with these words in mind.
When I was a child in school, I enjoyed reading a publication that was given to us called the Weekly Reader. Each edition included a drawing in which other drawings were hidden. It might be a landscape scene or a drawing of a city park. Hidden within the obvious objects were a number of hidden objects. If you looked closely at the tree, you might find a hidden bird. The ornate legs of a park bench might not be bench legs at all, but a sleeping squirrel resting upside down.
I remember gathering around a drawing with my classmates to look at it different ways until all the hidden objects were found. We would turn the drawing left, right and upside down. We would zoom our eyes in and out of selected parts of the drawing to bring the hidden images to the fore. We would win by solving the puzzle. We would feel smart by making obvious that which was not first obvious.
The amazing thing was that once the hidden images were discovered, they did not go back into hiding. From that point forward, the drawing did not look the same as it did before.
It also happened that once the hidden images were seen, the drawing was no longer interesting to view. More interesting was the next drawing that would come with the next Weekly Reader in which new hidden objects waited to be found.
So too it is with personal growth. The Operation Streamline milestone I talked about yesterday is a perspective changer. Having solved my task-list puzzle, a new internal conversation is developing to fill the space that my old self talk occupied.
The new conversation is not something I have to develop. It will come on its own. Waking this morning with the above words in mind shows that the new conversation is well underway.
Diane and I remain firmly focused on achieving our expediting goals. I am equally committed to my trading goals. What is changing is the level of difficulty with which these goals are pursued. Thanks to Operation Streamline, it is easier to move ahead.
• We woke up this morning at the Petro truck stop in Oak Grove, Missouri. We are laid over here, waiting for an acceptable load offer and freight to haul. We do not know how long we will have to wait. I do know that good portion of the waiting time will be invested in trading.
Update: My trading time was cut short by a load offer we accepted. We will be deadheading 500 miles today to pick up a load tomorrow. Once loaded, we will run overnight to deliver the freight Wednesday morning.
A 500 mile deadhead may seem long to some. Not to us. We have deadheaded over 1,000 miles to pick up some loads. We calculate our pay on an all-miles basis. We add the deadhead miles to the loaded miles and then determine the rate per mile that is being offered. If the pay meets our expenses and provides a reasonable profit, we take the load.
It does not matter if there is freight on the truck or not. From the moment we start driving to get the freight, we will be earning the money the load pays.
When it comes to pay, there is revenue per mile and revenue per day. Daily revenue varies a lot. Weekly revenue is a more meaningful indicator. Monthly revenue is an even better indicator. Whle we will only have freight on the truck for 24 hours between now and Wednesday afternoon, the run pays enough to put us half-way toward our weekly revenue goal. 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