TEACHING MY GRANDDAUGHTER HOW TO USE WORDPRESS BLOGS
Posted By The GYPSY on October 22, 2011
THIS IS A TEST, THIS IS ONLY A TEST. IF THIS HAD BEEN AN ACTUAL BLOG I WOULD HAVE SAID SOMETHING WITTY AND INTELLIGENT.
.: Welcome To The Rubber Biskit Road Show, :.
.: Calendar :.
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SITTING ON THE DOCK OF THE BAY
Posted By The GYPSY on February 10, 2011
Terminal Island! The name conjures up images of Sailors and Long Shore-men. Merchant Marines and Prostitutes. It brings about thoughts of foggy nights and lonesome fog horns, black and white movies and shady deals conducted in long abandoned warehouses. But that was yesterday’s Terminal Island and this is today’s.
Harbor Blvd. on Terminal Island
Located near Long Beach, California Terminal Island is an artificial island. Originally a mud flat called Isla Raza de Buena Gente (Island Race of Good People), and later called Rattlesnake Island it became Terminal Island in 1918. The west end of the island is the San Pedro area of Los Angeles while the east side belongs to the city of Long Beach.
Downtown Long Beach, California
Terminal Island is home to numerous world famous locations. Harbor Blvd., The Los Angeles Aquarium, Long Beach Naval Station, Port of Long Beach and Port of Los Angeles. Once home to first and second generation Japanese Americans their village located on the island was razed when the citizens living their were moved to interment camps following the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor.
Entrance to Los Angeles Aquarium
Terminal Island is connected to the mainland via three bridges. To the west, the distinctively green Vincent Thomas Bridge connects Terminal Island with the Los Angeles neighborhood of San Pedro. It is the third longest suspension bridge in California. The Gerald Desmond Bridge connects Terminal Island to downtown Long Beach to the east. The (also green) Commodore Schuyler F. Heim Bridge joins Terminal Island with the Los Angeles neighborhood of Wilmington to the north. Adjacent to the Heim Bridge is the Henry Ford Bridge that carries rail traffic.
The view east descending the Vincent Thomas Bridge.
The view east descending the Gerald Desmond Bridge.
These days most people that visit Terminal Island are either tourists, residents of high dollar condos or work on the island. Coast Guard, Prison, Marina, Restaurant and Gift Shop Workers rub elbows with Warehouse Workers, Long Shore-men and Truckers. Most people only see the surface of Terminal Island but only the aforementioned Warehouse Workers, Long Shore-man and Truckers see it’s heart and what lies beneath.
Port of Los Angeles
Undoubtedly two of the most busiest ports in the world the Port of Long Beach and the Port of Los Angeles see hundreds of thousands of exports and imports on a daily basis. The port of Los Angeles is made up of Berths that run in between numbered warehouses. These “Berths” once allowed ships and barges to maneuver in next to a warehouse for loading and unloading. On the street side are docks for trucks that move goods in and out of the port. Now with the advent of large container ships the warehouse have become temporary holding facilities only for products that will be loaded into containers and crane lifted to the ships. Most of the berths are now abandoned and serve only as a doorway to a bygone era.
Berth 58 and Warehouse #1 Port of Los Angeles
This is the world seen by only a few. Once home to large ocean going vessels now Marine Salvage Boats, Fishing Boats, Tug Boats as well as leisure craft use the berths for docking boats that would have paled along side the behemoths of the past.
Marine Docking at Berth 58
Author Louis L’Amour wrote of his life on Terminal Island. The Films Gone in 60 Seconds and Death Race were filmed there. Terminal Island is in a constant state of transition and just like the Long Beach Shipyards that were decommissioned in 1997 much of the old island is just a memory. But, if you look hard enough you can still uncover some of it’s hidden history and silent secrets.
Berth 57 Port of Los Angeles
Photos and Story by J.A. George – Copyright 2011 Tatman Productions LLC
Additional Research from www.wikipedia.com
ARE YOU READY FOR MORE PEOPLE TO BE UNEMPLOYED? AN OPINION FROM A DRIVER.
Posted By The GYPSY on January 29, 2011
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), has proposed new rules that will not only cripple the trucking industry but also create more unemployment and higher prices at the store. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has said, “A fatigued driver has no place behind the wheel of a large commercial truck.” He is correct in that and the sentiment is all well and good yet Mr. LaHood in his proposal for a change in the “Hours of Service” regulations shows just how ill informed the FMCSA is in the nature of the trucking industry.
This new HOS proposal would retain the “34-hour restart” provision allowing drivers to restart the clock on their weekly 60 or 70 hours by taking at least 34 consecutive hours off-duty. However, the restart period would have to include two consecutive off-duty periods from midnight to 6:00 a.m. Drivers would be allowed to use this restart only once during a seven-day period.
Additionally the proposal would require commercial truck drivers to complete all driving within a 14-hour workday, and to complete all on-duty work-related activities within 13 hours to allow for at least a one hour break. It also leaves open for comment whether drivers should be limited to 10 or 11 hours of daily driving time, although FMCSA currently favors a 10-hour limit.
It is apparent by this proposal that the FMCSA is living in an air tight bubble and has no concept at all of the impact of such a drastic regulation change. Currently a driver cannot work over 70 hours in an 8 day period. The driver is limited to a 14 hour work day with no more than 11 hours driving time. The drivers 14 hour clock starts from the time they go on duty after their 10 hour break to the time they go off duty for their next 10 hour break. On Duty Not Driving, On Duty, Sleeper Berth and Off Duty time is all counted in this 14 hour period. The current regulation went into effect in 2006 and since that time traffic accidents between Commercial Semi-Trucks and Private Vehicles have dropped dramatically. A good example of this can be found on the FMSCA website at http://ai.fmcsa.dot.gov/CarrierResearchResults/HTML/2008Crashfacts/tbl4.htm In 1988 the Injury Crashes per 100 Million Vehicle Miles Traveled was 67.9 in 2008 it was 28.0 This in and of itself would be a dramatic drop in Injury Crashes but when you factor in the fact that there are actually more trucks and more motorists on the road today than in 1988 the drop is even more dramatic and impressive. So it would be safe to assume that Mr. LaHood and his advisors have not read their own statistics before making a statement like “We are committed to an hours-of-service rule that will help create an environment where commercial truck drivers are rested, alert and focused on safety while on the job.”
Drivers have a problem now getting all the work that must be done in single day taken care of within the 14 hour period but they do it. A Commercial Driver is paid by the mile, not the hour. The FMSCA by their continued efforts to limit the driver on hours of service are creating an environment in which the Commercial Driver cannot make a descent living.
If this proposed regulation is passed it will be a prime example of the Government once again passing an unwarranted and over restrictive regulation that will have a severe trickle down effect. If drivers cannot make money they will look for jobs where they can. If there are less trucks on the road moving freight product will stack up in warehouses. If product is not moving out of the warehouses manufacturing will slow down. When manufacturing slows down people get laid off. When people are unemployed no one is buying what product is available. When product is not being purchased prices increase and so does interest rates to cover the lost revenue. In other words this one small change in regulations in the name of “Increased Safety” when “Increased Safety” is already an everyday factor for the trucking industry will cripple not only the trucking industry but the manufacturing industry, the American Worker as well as the American Consumer.
What the FMCSA fails to realize is that the “Mandatory Break” they are trying to impose is not only a ridicules notion it is also a senseless and unnecessary restriction. Commercial Drivers get plenty of breaks during their shift. They are not machines they are human beings. Whether it is stopping to use the rest room, waiting in line to be loaded or unloaded, kicking back in the sleeper while being loaded or unloaded. Waiting for dispatch, stopping to get something to eat or drink, or any other of the number of reasons that a driver may find himself off duty during the day a driver is not always driving. All of these things subtract from the 14 hour clock but also add up to a lot of at rest time for the driver on a daily basis now Mr. LaHood wants to add another hour of off duty time to the approximately 2 hours a day that the average driver already finds himself in an off duty status? Why? In the name of safety? How many breaks does Mr. LaHood think drivers need? How many breaks are the people in his office required to take during their work day? I guarantee that the average American Worker gets less breaks in a workday than the average American Trucker currently does.
While speaking of breaks Secretary LaHood’s reasoning on the 34 hour restart is very illogical. He wants only one 34 hour restart allowed in a 7 day period yet he says he wants drivers well rested. So what he is saying is that I should not be allowed to take more than one 34 hour period off in a weeks time and if I do I cannot start my clock over? Maybe people that only get 34 hours off a week that work in other industries should not be allowed to return to work until they have been off 48 hours. Because that is what he is actually proposing, a 48 hour restart which again reaches deep into the pocket of all those people I have previously mentioned.
If Secretary LaHood is so concerned with increased safety on the road perhaps instead of targeting the trucking industry he should set his sights on the real safety hazard, the American motoring public. Hundreds of thousands of dollars are spent yearly on Railroad Safety Awareness. Where is the same money at that should be spent on Roadway Safety Awareness? Where are the billboards advising automobile drivers against fatigued driving, following semi-tractor units to close, cutting off semi-tractor units to close or not giving units space to maneuver in traffic? Where are the traffic signs advising against these acts along the highway? Where are the public safety officers pulling over motorists who create a safety hazard around big trucks?
Instead of imposing stricter regulations that are not needed and would potentially hurt untold millions of people, how about putting that same effort towards education.
It is needless for me to state that I am opposed to this ill informed and overly restrictive regulation as if you do not know that by now then no amount of further discussion would help you understand my position.
If you are of the same mind as I am and you feel like this is something that is uncalled for and ill conceived than I urge you to let your voice be heard. Please go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!home and make a comment. Reference “FMCSA HOURS-OF-SERVICE RULEMAKING, RIN 2126-AB-26 Primary Changes Proposed for Property-Carrying Drivers” when leaving your comment. If you want to take it a step further I urge you to also contact your Congressman and Senator. To find your Representatives please visit: https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml and http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
Tell your Representative, your Senator, the FMCSA and Mr. LaHood that you are tired of over reactive and uninformed bureaucracy trampling down the American Worker and applying restrictions where restrictions are not needed.
J.A. George – OTR Driver Swift Transportation
The GYPSY’S BIG ADVENTURE
Posted By The GYPSY on January 23, 2011
If there is a child that has not played with plastic Dinosaur’s they are few and far between. When I was a child Pterodactyls once more ruled the sky, Tyrannosaurus Rex fed on smaller Dinosaurs and the Brontosaurus and Stegosaurus fought for dominance over the mud pit in my front yard.
Plastic Toy Dinosaurs.
When my son Michael was growing up he played with toy Dinosaurs also. His were a little more sophisticated than mine. He had an obsession with the movie Jurassic Park so for Christmas one year I got him the entire Jurassic Park toy line. The was one happylittle guy as his Velopso Raptors ripped the human figures to shreds.
Jurassic Park Toys
Actor Paul Reubens captured a child’s fascination with Dinosaur’s when he incorporated the Cabazon Dinosaur’s into his 1985 Comedy Movie, “Pee Wee’s Big Adventure.” In the movie Pee Wee has dinner at a diner called the “Wheel Inn”. He makes friends with the waitress then they have a tender scene inside the mouth of a giant T-Rex. Their moment is broken up by the woman’s bat weilding trucker boyfried. Most people do not know that both the “Wheel Inn” and the T-Rex are not products of a Hollywood prop department but are actually real.
Paul Reubens as Pee Wee Herman
When I drove Semi-Tractor Trailer units back in the late 1980′s and early 1990′s the Wheel Inn at Cabazon, California was a regular stop for me.
Wheel Inn Cabazon, California
I had not been to the Wheel Inn since 1991 but when I pulled into the parking lot I was really not surprised to see that it had not changed in 20 years. As always, the old Miner and Donkey greeted me at the door.
The Wheel Inn Miner and Donkey
The Wheel Inn is a typical old time truck stop restaurant. Advertising home cooked meals it is a throw back to those days when people would say; “That’s where the truckers eat, you know the food is good.” And it is good. I ordered the same thing I had ordered 20 years previous; A Hot Turkey Sandwich. As I waited for my order I looked around the small restaurant marveling that in 20 years it had not changed. I even sat beneath the stuffed Bison head I sat beneath on my last visit and the yellow for sale tag advertising that you could own it for only $975.00 still hung from one horn as it had 20 years hence. Over filling the plate the Hot Turkey Sandwich was just as delicious as the last time I had it and more than filled me up.
The Wheel Inn Lunch Counter
There is not very much to Cabazon, California. Made up of a Truck Stop, the Wheel Inn, A Burger King and a Bar-B-Que Place not much more exists. Windmills fight for dominance over bill boards and desert mountains.
Interstate Highway 10 as it travels through Cabazon, California
Interstate Highway 10 slices right through the area and most would just bypass it without a second thought as they speed towards Palm Springs to the east or Los Angeles to the west. The reason they do not bypass it is the Cabazon Dinosaurs.
Ms. Dinny and Mr. Rex
The dinosaurs were built over 30 years ago by Knott’s Berry Farm sculptor and portrait artist Claude K. Bell (1897–1988) to attract customers to his Wheel Inn Cafe, which opened in 1958. . The Apatosaurus (formerly known as the Brontosaurus) took eleven years to build and was completed in 1975. It is the biggest dinosaur in the world measuring 45′ high and 150 feet long and weighs 30 tons. The belly of Dinny hosts gift shop.
Ms. Dinny, worlds largest Dinosaur at Cabazon, California
The T-Rex, affectionately known as “Mr. Rex”, took seven years to build and was completed in 1981. Originally, a giant slide was installed in Rex’s tail; it was later filled in with concrete making the slide unusable. Mr. Rex is undoubtably the most famous of the two Dinosaurs due to his appearence in the movie Pee Wee’s big adventure. A third woolly mammoth sculpture and a prehistoric garden were drafted, but never completed due to Bell’s death in 1988.
Mr. Rex at Cabazon, California
In the 1990′s the property was sold to a creationist group from Costa Mesa, California who received permission from the state of California to expand the site. The site now contains a “Robotic” Dinosaur museum and features evolutionist views along side creationist views.
Cabazon Dinosaur Museum Entrance Sign
What I found unfortunate during my recent visit was that instead of presenting an unbiased presentation the museum leans more towards the creationist theories. It even promotes the belief by adding the label, “Don’t swallow it! The fossil record does not support evolution.” to toy Dinosaurs sold in it’s gift shop. Signs found around the grounds state that eveloution is impossible. The museum, for all practical purposes, has been turned into a non-denominational church that promotes the theory that Man walked with Dinosaurs using the Bibles book of Genesis to support their belief. Yes Cabazon, California is a tourist trap that promotes a one sided view of life on earth but that is OK, that is their right.
Robotic Dinosaur Museum
Over 12,000,000 people each year see the giant dinos from Interstate 10 and stop to explore. So if you ever find yourself crusing through the California desert on Interstate 10 and you see two giants looming on the horizon stop for awhile and check it out. After all where else can you get a Hot Turkey Sandwich and walk with Dinosaurs all in the same day.
- Hot Turkey Sandwich
I am reminded of Pee Wee Herman as he sat in the mouth of Mr. Rex with waitress Simone who asks; “Do you have any dreams?” To which Pee Wee replies; “Yeah, I’m all alone. I’m rolling a big doughnut and this snake wearing a vest… ” Not that it has anything to do with the Wheel Inn or the Dinosaurs I just think it’s a cool quote.
Copyright 2011 Tatman Productions LLC
*Cabazon Dinosaur Info From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabazon_Dinosaurs and http://www.cabazondinosaurs.com/
The Bogey Chronicles #7 – Lincoln Statue Memorial
Posted By Bogey on January 23, 2011
Bogey is again on the grounds of the State Capital Building in Topeka, Kansas where he has run into the great law giver Moses… or is he?
CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE BOGEY VIDEO - LINCOLN STATUE MEMORIAL