This is my newest pipe And this is an ugly hat I bought the other day Am in a truckstop in Walton, KY for the night. I'm taking my time easing up to WI, will deliver at the museum on Monday morning.

I picked up a truck and trailer from Camp Lejeune, NC and am taking them to a military museum in WI. Making the pick up turned out to be an adventure. The lot where they were located was mostly sand and I got stuck. They tried to pull me out with their big forklift but there was just no way. The rig had sunk down in the sand so far that the bottom rails of my trailer were on the ground. The guy asked me to wait while he made a phone call, like I was going anywhere, and a few minutes later ...

Once again playing around with my digital camera, I shot some pics in KY and WV while driving along just to reflect my point of view. Nothing especially exciting about these, just some ordinary views from the seat of my rig. Lovely traffic jam outside of Charleston, WV thanks to some dimwit causing a wreck in the construction zone The WV capital dome Going down Sandstone Mountain, 7% grade Sandstone Mountain oooops spot Looong way down Blueri...

I delivered the 6 generators here in Morehead City, NC today. What a job! The generators all went to pumping stations around the area to power them in case of power failure during a hurricane. These pumping stations were not built in spots with a mind to large trucks getting in a out of them. The crane, while not as long as my rig, also had a lot of trouble getting in a out of these places. The next to last spot was especially bad. So bad in fact that both I and the crane operator refused ...

I'm having my morning coffee at a truckstop in Walton, KY just South of Cincinnatti, trying to get myself awake. It was excellent sleeping weather last night. Cool enough to be comfortable so I didn't need to run the truck over night in order to maintain temperature for sleeping. Normally my loads are such that the stops are relatively close together, but this one is really spreada out. The load consists of 6 large generators and 2 Bomags (think pavement roller). My first stop is a Bomag i...

Since I started smoking a pipe I have smoked Prince Albert tobacco. It's a basic, inexpensive burly tobacco that I enjoy well enough. It's also widely distributed and can be purchased almost anywhere. As a trucker, that's an important point. No sense smoking a tobacco I can't find while out on the road. Today I stopped into the local tobacco store here in WI to pick up some pipe cleaners. While there I looked over the pipes they had displayed and, couldn't help myself, wound up choosing tw...

I spent a few bucks today and bought the Lord of the Rings collection and the first two seasons of the X Files. What can I say, this kind of stuff appeals to me. Anyone else like these?

I just wanted to share a few pics related to what I spend most of my time doing. This is the sort of stuff I haul: A view of the cockpit of my truck: A little closer look at the central control panel : In case you hadn't guessed, I got a new digital camera today

By the time I got back into the yard yesterday and picked up my paycheck the bank was already closed so I couldn't go cash the check. I decided to just get a room for the night and cash it this morning before heading out on my next trip. When I got up this morning I wandered to the lobby and got myself a cup of coffee and since the bank is right next door I decided to walk over and see what time they open this morning. As I looked at the sign whcih displayed their hours I had to do a doubl...

My job takes me all over the country. I have my usual stopping places. Places where I like to stop and eat, places where I like to stop and rest, and places where I like to stop and have a good time. I'm back in WI and, after a rather annoying day, I rented a room for the night in my favorite local hotel. The hotel just happens to have an Applebys next door to it. Coincidence? I think not. After I haggled over the rate, got checked in, and stored my crap in the room, I wandered over to ...

While I've really enjoyed a few days of relaxing at home it's time for me to get back to work. Tomorrow morning I'll head up to Jacksonville, FL to pick up some machinery going to Belvidere, IL. Tonight I'm preparing the house to be closed up once again, readying my gear, and enjoying a final few hours of rest before getting back to the grind. I'm also looking forward to whatever new sights and adventures may or may not await me "out there". It's a big country and there's always something ...

Florida has been going through another dry spell and that normally means fires. Some of these fires are started by idiots, some my lightening, and others by...? Last week a section of I95 was shut down due to smoke from a large ground fire. I drove by and saw the huge plume of smoke rising from this smouldering monster. It was pretty huge. Yesterday a section of I75, in the same county in which I live, was shut down due to smoke from another fire. The challenge for fire fighters with th...

I wrote a short article a while back about Terry Bisson's short story "They're made of Meat". Link Now, someone has made a movie. Pretty cute. Link

I wrote a short article a while back about Terry Bisson's short story "They're made of Meat". Link Now, someone has made a movie. Pretty cute. Link

As some may know, I have been struggling to quit smoking cigarettes for some time now. So far I've not been very successful at this endevour, especially now that I have returned to the road. Recently I took up pipe smoking in an effort to reduce the number of cigarettes I smoke each day and perhaps eventually supplant them altogether. There is something...different...about smoking a pipe. One can't just pull a pipe out of one's pocket and light up without thought. A pipe must be carefully ...