You've probably noticed that the webcam software has been giving me fits the last few days. It just forgets to upload the images. I downloaded the latest version and I'll install it when I have some time.

For whatever reason Freightliner didn't put air vents in the back of the cab of my loaner truck (5716). I figured it out when my ears would pop when a window or door was opened while the A/C was on high. I just measured the difference with the altimeter on my watch.(every well-dressed techno-geek has one) Window up: 480' Window open: 560'

Kind of like jumping to the roof of an 8 story building in 100 milliseconds!

Well, it's a gloomy, drizzly day here in New Jersey. Not much different then 8 years ago today, April 29th, 1999, the day my wife passed away. Jennifer was 26.

Doing OK today, just waiting for a load out.

This is one of my favorite pictures of us:

The damage to my truck wasn't nearly as bad as they made it sound on the phone. A new windshield & mirror and we were rolling. My dispatcher & I were hoping to put off sending the truck to the body shop till our next hometime. We were overuled. So, on our way to New Jersey we docked at the mother ship in Cedar Rapids, IA and moved some of our stuff into truck 5716. They're estimating 2-3 weeks for the repairs.

As you can see, I transferred the truck cam. I pulled out my rather expensive ham radio but left the wiring in place. So the 'Find Me' button won't be working.

My laptop was choking under the combined load of the webcam and it's GPS/Navigation duties. The CPU utilization was a constant 60-75% It was just too much, it crashed several times a day. I just bought a Toshiba Satellite A205-S4577 with a Duo Core processor to help matters out. I think I have all the issues worked out to make the truck cam work. The Toshiba will take over as the Primary Navigation Computer, the Acer will handle the truck cam & Internet connectivity issues. I wish I could brag that this was all being done wirelessly without a hitch. Sitting here in my dad's garage I just can't seem to work out all the bugs. So a (Cat-5 network crossover) cable will have to connect the two laptops. Not a problem, just an ego hit for a techno-geek like me.

I just got off the phone with my dispatcher. The details about the extent of the damage are sketchy right now. He's not even sure exactly what happened. What we do know is that
somebody backed into my truck

while it was parked in the Fontana yard! It doesn't sound good for 5306.

I finally made it home! I made up a new banner for the Truck Cam. If you know the story of The Donner Party then you'll get the twisted humor in it.

I made up a page that lists the hardware & software I use to make this work.

Just got the truck it's 40,000 mile service again. Lube, 11 gallons oil, filters, a new driveres side windshield (again). I think they finally got the air conditioner fixed right.

We are scheduled to go home tomorrow but we're hoping we can take off after we make this quick 200 mile round trip run.

While I've been sitting here playing with my computer 2 guys selling merchandise of questionable origin , one homeless guy & three Lot Lizards have knocked on my door.

A little note: You may have noticed that I'm careful not to use any language here that might be considered offensive. It's not because I'm a saint, I have my moments.. You may have also noticed the iWatchdog logo on the main (camera) page. From their website "...when a user sees the iWatchDog™ or ICCS™ certification logo that it is a web site that has no offensive content within." This is a unique site & I want to make sure that anybody who wants to can safely view it.

So, feel free to type whatever you want when you add a comment. Just make sure it's something you wouldn't mind your child, grandchild, niece, nephew, pastor or mom reading. Otherwise I'll delete the entry and show up on your doorstep for an explaination! Yes, I know where you live...

Hangin' out in Dallas, TX. Our load can't be delivered till 0800 tomorrow morning. Finally getting my laundry done. It's good that we keep moving, that's how we make money. Every once in a while you need to stop for a while to take care of business.

My friend Christina sent me this.
Try it, you'll like it, everybody's doing it...

1. Go to www.google.com
2. Click on "maps"
3. Click on "get directions"
4. Type "New York" in the first box (the "from" box)
5. Type "London" in the second box (the "to" box)
6. Scroll down to step #21

Or you can just CLICK HERE & scroll down to step #23.

Almost forgot...HAPPY FRIDAY THE 13TH!!!

Started this run back on February 27th. On April 19th I'M GOING HOME!! The camera will be up again April 26th. About 7.5 weeks out. That's TOO long!

This picture was taken by the truck cam at 0258 in the morning! I was on I-55 in southern Missouri. It wasn't the only blinding flash of lightning last night. It was raining so hard I almost couldn't drive.

...don't need a smart comment. They speak for themselves. (That's a smart comment, isn't it?)

Sitting at Charlotte/Douglas International Airport picking up a load of air freight. A significant percentage of domestic cargo shipped by air freight companies never sees the inside of an airplane. It's called diverted air freight. With the time involved in loading & unloading aircraft, a truck can frequently make the run as fast as, if not faster than shipping by air. It is also cheaper & burns much less fuel. Diesel fuel runs about $2.75/Gal, Jet fuel is about $5.35/Gal.

By the way, there is a mystique about jet fuel. I'm going to dispel it. Jet fuel, diesel fuel & home heating oil are different blends of the same thing. In fact it is a very common practice at most airports to fuel the diesel powered tugs, carts & other ground equipment with jet fuel. The only drawback is that jet fuel produces less power.

I love these air freight loads. If they'd let me, I'd run nothing but air freight I get to sit and watch the planes take off while listening to them on my air band radio. As I'm typing this a cargo plane just started it's engines and taxied away right in front of me. I'm close enough to smell the exhaust!