French Prisident Sarkozy

French President Nicolas Sarkozy walked out of an interview with 60 Minutes a few days ago. He complained that the question asked of him had already been asked. Obviously, the interviewer was pressing a point -- he wanted to push the President into areas of discussion he knew the President did not want to go into. President is "smart, energetic and tempestuous" -- he is one of the new European leaders with energy and class. He will stand his ground and the world will be better for it.

Fall 2007: Awash in Wheat

We were awash in wheat this year in Eastern Washington. Production was good but not as high as it has been some times in the past. The farmers still did very well if they were able to keep their wheat off the market until the price per bushel reached $7 to $10.

Alan Greenspan: Thoughts from the Tub

Heard an interview this morning between Alan Greenspan and a BBC interviewer. Finally, I learned why Greenspan does much of his work in a bathtub. Years ago (in the 70's I think) when he was having back problems his doctor advised hot baths for at least an hour at a time. He began to make use of his time in the tub and learned to think and write while he was all wet. He has continued this to today.

Why should we be interested in Alan Greespan? He can tell us something about our economy. Understanding the economy helps us understand our place in the vast mystery of our work.

Fuel Prices

Diesel at the Petro Truck Stop west of Spokane yesterday was over $3.60 per gallon.
The highest price in the nation as best I could figure. This is quite a jump. This has to be quite a shock. Until the new fuel surcharges come into play, the operator will face some lower profits or maybe no profits at all, losses.

IdleAire

 
 

Here are a couple of pictures of the IdleAire installation at the Petro Truck Stop west of Spokane. I expect the use of the installation will increase as the weather becomes colder.

Solitude

Do not allow yourself to be imprisoned by any affection. Keep your solitude. The day, if it ever comes, when you are given true affection there will be no opposition between interior solitude and friendship, quite the reverse. It is even by this infallible sign that you will recognize it.

Simone Weil

In some occupations, some undertakings, one lives separate, alone, remote from society. In the process of any such occupation one must constantly choose between diversion or it's opposite. One cannot experience solitude by pursuit of diversion --the illusions of affection and place. One can experience solitude in quiet and in struggle against the desire to create illusions. Solitude can only be understood in the place where there are no diversions, no illusions.

Femme Fatales

The British have Princess Diana. Even in death she is very much alive. The Agentinians have Eva Peron (is she dead?). The French have Segolene Royal and now Cecilia Sarkozy. (See piture.) We have Britney Spears, Paris Hilton and Lindsy Lohan. I wonder, is there any meaning in such observations?

Komatsu Mining Trucks

 
 
 

This summer, a heavy hauler team was moving these Komatsu mining trucks from Centralia, Washington to upper Alberta, Canada. It had taken the hauling team 30 days to move 6 of these trucks (each truck split into several units -- at least 4) from Centralia to Spokane. Each Komatsu can carry 263 cubic yards of material at a time, weight permitting.

Heavy Load

 

This heavy load, a large gear, was photographed a few weeks ago west of Spokane, Washington at the Petro truck stop at I-90 and Hayford Road.

High Plains Trucking Website

I have begun a website for my dreamed about trucking company, High Plains Trucking Company. I hope people will find it useful and interesting. The creation of the website is an exercise in self-education. In the creation of the site I am trying to understand the work of an "owner-operator" long haul trucker.

I have my Commercial Driver's License with a whole panoply of endorsements. My plan is to go on the road part-time sometime in the next few months. Next year I would like to go on the road full-time or nearly full-time. I hope to evolve into an owner-operator sometime in the next two years.

The "New Cold War"

It appears the USA, China, and Russia are embarking on a "New Cold War." In the last few days we have seen movements on the part of these world powers which seem to be challenges to each other. We are seeing the challenge of China by the US regarding the Dali Lama and Tibet. We are seeing the challenge to the US by Russia and V. Putin regarding Iran and its move to develop nuclear capabilities.

These challenges are good. The world powers are alligning and challenging. This will not evolve into new dangers although it might seem so from time to time. Instead, the challenges of weak states will be picked up and refined by the allegiences of weak states with one major power or the other. The major powers are more refined in the field of international relations. Such refinements will civilize the debates and allow the debates to happen.

These developments may seem like a recreation of the "Cold War" but this would be a misnomer. Another description should be used, one which is true to the "real politik" which is evolving today.

Ethics, Business

Business ethics are on a downturn. There are numerous cases involving the backdating of stock options. A WSJ story tells how it works: “Stock options give employees the right to buy shares in the future at the market price on the date a grant is approved. If the stock rises later, the recipient can cash in the option to take a profit. Backdating a grant to a prior date when the price was lower increases the award's value.” H-P Settles Suit Tied to Mercury And Backdating, Benjamin Pimentel, October 16, 2007, WSJ. One wonders why a person would engage in this type of activity? It seems so obviously wrong. Yet there seem to be lots of these cases and some involve the great leaders of industry such as Steve Jobs of Apple. In January 2007 Bloomberg.com reported that at “least 200 companies are being investigated for changing the dates of options grants to inflate their value. Companies have taken over $8.1 billion in charges or restatements to account for backdated options grants.” In one situation Apple reported a fake board meeting which allowed backdated options for Steve Jobs and others. Ibid.

Justice Clarence Thomas, Dreaming of an 18 Wheeler

Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas dreams of driving an 18 wheeler. Here is what he said in a recent interview with Rush Limbaugh:

RUSH: What would you do if you weren't a judge? Other than being a judge, what would you like to do?

JUSTICE THOMAS: (laughing) Oh, goodness. My wife always sort of has problems when I answer questions like that, because what I'd like to do is a little bit different --

RUSH: Well, is she there?

JUSTICE THOMAS: No, she's not.

RUSH: Well, then go ahead and answer it!

JUSTICE THOMAS: (laughing) I would like to run a small- or medium-size business in a small community. That would be sort of the more top-end of the options. I'd like to be a coach. I would love to know enough football or basketball to coach teams, and my one dream job was to be a truck driver. I still have that in my system. I love being around tractor-trailers, 18-wheelers. I love working on large vehicles, driving them. Maybe that goes back to delivering fuel oil and working on the farm. But I love being around people who work with their hands, who do the hard things to keep our country going. They're just my kind of people.

Source

To learn about a thoughtful, tough, compassionate and courageous man read Justice Thomas' biography My Grandfather's Son: A Memoir.

Thoughtful Trucker

Here is a story about an interesting trucker, Robert Jordan of Wisconsin. Overdrive Magazine.

Mack Battery APU Option

Mack Trucks mow offers a battery APU unit. Here is what they say:

The system uses a bank of high-efficiency absorbed glass mat (AGM) batteries to provide stored electrical power for heating, air conditioning and amenities, such as TV or microwave. The sealed AGM batteries are known for their durable, long-life operation, and can be safely housed inside the truck. The bank of five AGM batteries is stored under the sleeper's bunk.

The batteries can be recharged three different ways: by the truck's alternator when the engine is running; through a shore power connection when the vehicle is stopped; or through an available connection to the reefer unit for tractors hauling refrigerated trailers. When the truck is not moving, the driver can use battery power or shore power to run heating, air conditioning and amenities. The system provides either 12- or 120-volt power.

Idle Free uses a Xantrex Prosine 2000W inverter/charger to control and regulate electrical power, as well as to charge both the Idle Free batteries and the truck's batteries. Mack's complete climate control package includes a Webasto diesel-fired heater and a Dometic HVAC unit. The Odyssey AGM 31 batteries have the ability to run the AC for 10 hours with an outside air temperature of 90 degrees.

According to Warmkessel, Idle Free has advantages over traditional auxiliary power units. The total weight of the system, with five batteries, inverter, HVAC and controls is 370 pounds, which is less than many APUs. It is also quiet, does not consume fuel, requires no maintenance, and is not subject to local idling restrictions.

More can be found at the Mack website.

Just Use Your Batteries

California law, starting in 2008, will not allow truck engine idling by long-haul trucks.

A long haul truck is also a "living unit." While on the road, the truck is the driver's home. When the truck engine is not running the living unit requires power and other utilities. The main requirement, of course, is power. How best to provide power. One solution is to allow trucks to "plug in" to a resource at truck stops. Another, is to provide auxiliary power by a power device attached to the truck. The most simple solution is to provide the energy from batteries already in place on the truck. However, such batteries will have to be different from those currently in use. Of course, if new batteries can be developed which will be able to provide such power they will more more costly than the current batteries available for trucking use. They may be worth the cost. Enhanced batteries seems the best solution to the auxilary power supply need.

Batteries as APU

Firefly Energy is about to introduce a new battery line to be used instead of truck engine idling or auxiliary power units as the power source for sleeper requirements.

The Danger Today

The Danger Today. At the CIA one will find this sign "Today's date is September 12th 2001."

Arnaud de Borchgrave says:

On Sept. 7, CIA Director Gen. Michael V. Hayden told the Council on Foreign relations: "Our analysts assess with high confidence that al Qaeda's central leadership is planning high-impact plots against the U.S. homeland... we who study the enemy see a danger more real than anything our citizens at home have confronted since our Civil War.

General Hayden’s full remarks can be found here.

Cost of Diesel: Run on the Dollar

The price of oil will go up if there is a run on the dollar. If the value of the dollar goes down and the price of oil is pegged to a currency other than the dollar the cost of oil in the future market will be higher than the cost of oil in the present market. In time, truckers will pay more for diesel fuel.

Last summer, trucker Ted Maki of Missoula, Montana was injured when a bowling ball dropped from an overpass crashed through the windshield of his semi as he was passing through Fairmont, Minnesota on I-90. This dangerous prank almost took Mr. Maki's life. The children will be punished. The report can be found in the Minneapolis Star and Tribune. Fairmont is east of Sioux Falls, S.D. and west of La Cross, Wisconsin. I-90 runs roughly parallel to the southern border of Minnesota and about 20 - 35 miles to the north.

Driver Income

Sage, a local CDL school, advertises there are lots of truck driving jobs. They say a team can earn $80,000 per year and that a single driver can earn $30,000 per year.