I really hate winter.

Hello all, I haven't been on for a few days since I can't get home. Luckily I am able to use my sister's computer. We had a really bad winter storm here in southern Indiana. In my town everyone I have talked to measured between 32 and 34 inches of snow. It was 8 below zero friday morning, and 21 below zero Christmas morning. I still had to work in these conditions, and since I drive a truck for the Indy Star I was out in it the whole time. It took me over 6 1/2 hours to drive 80 miles during the worst of the snow. I was out 13 hours thursday night/friday morning, 15 hours friday night/Christmas morning, and 11 hours Christmas night /sunday morning. Tonight I was able to get done in 7 1/2 hours, which is still bad since it normally takes me 5 1/2 hours to do my 240 mile route (including time at the Star). I really hate winter. I'm not going to do any of my regular features tonight since I am exhausted from the past few days, so godnight.

My first night off from school and work in a long time and.......

.......it's so nice. Between school and work I have not had a day off since August, so I was starting to get a bit of burn out. Today I was off though, and I will be off tomorrow as well. I am going to put a new heater core in my car since it is supposed to get very cold by the end of the week. Tomorrow is supposed to be near 50, but the next day and into the day after we are supposed to get up to a foot of snow, and by friday our high is only supposed to be 12 with a possible low below zero, and the heat in my car dosen't work. I also will have to drive my route on Wednesday, even if a snow emergency is declared. If I don't I will get fired. The boss has said that no matter if the roads are closed I am required to run the route since the newspaper always runs. I have had to do it in some pretty bad weather before, so I am as prepared as I will be. I will have a blanket and sleeping bag, some water, some granola bars, a flashlight, and a few other things in the truck in case of an emergency. Last year when it got bad I saw seven cars slid off in less than a quarter of a mile area, so I know accidents can happen, but if I am extra careful I should be okay, though the route will take way longer if the snowplows don't keep the roads clear (they usually don't during heavy snowfall). Ohh well, I can hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.

Rant of the day:
My ISP. I have never seen an ISP that kicks you off every ten minutes on average like mine does. I think it's time to get a new one.

Good thing of the day:
Homemade chocolate chip cookies. I like them. I was over at my sister's house (again) today, so we decided to make some cookies. We ate most of them as they came out of the oven.

Weather:
Still haven't made it out of the 20's today. When I came in the thermometer showed 21 degrees. The warmest it got today was 23, and one of my friends said his thermometer on his porch said it was 1 degree this morning at about 7:00 am. BRRRRRRR

Daily deer report:
None. Zilch, zip, nada. There were no deer tonight, which is the first night since livivg here I have not seen any. May it stay this way too.


Well, that wraps it up for tonight. Goodnight all. I'll be back tomorrow.

I got through to Coast to Coast AM tonight and.......

....... made prediction number 19 on Art Bell's annual year end prediction show. He usually does two nights worth, and this year it is tonight and new years eve. That is the first time I ever tried to call in, and I got through. Now we wait and see what comes of it. My prediction was a major earthquake in the southern California desert, but since it happens in a remote place there in minimal damage. That is only the second time I have called into a nationwide talk radio program, and both times I have gotten on the air. The first one was The Sci-Zone with Bill Boshears who is based out of 700 WLW in Cincinati Ohio. At night he is supposed to be heard over 38 states. Tomorrow I get my first actual day off (no school or work) since mid August, and I have another one the next day too! Two days off in a row!!! Days in which I can do whatever I want!!! WOO HOO!!!
Today I also hit an animal on the road. It was a chicken. I guess that chicken didn't quite make it to the other side. How it happened was I had to go into town this afternoon, and since I live out in the country it's all back roads to town. Right after I posted last night we had some snow. It wasn't much, less than an inch, but it was enough to stick to the roads and everything else. When snow is on the roads people run over it which compacts it turning it into something like a sheet of ice. The road which I was driving down had this on it, so it was a bit slick (lots of wheelspin when you nail it). A chicken decided to start across the road, and since I was going about 45 I couldn't stop since I would have probably slid off. It was either me or the chicken, and since I'm bigger I won. Chicken patties anyone? He was pretty flat in the rear view mirror.

Rant of the day:
I had a pretty good day, so I can't think of anything.

Good thing of the day:
Well, today was a pretty good day, so the good thing of today is, well, today! :P

Weather:
COLD COLD COLD!!!! This afternoon at 2:00 it was 16 according to the big thermometer in North Vernon, and this morning at 2:00 it was 5. Yes, that's right, 5 degrees above zero, which means it could go down a few more before sunrise. I am not ready for that yet.

Daily deer report:
3 tonight. I think the rest are staying out of the open because of the cold weather.


Well, that concludes tonights posting. Goodnight everyone, don't forget to visit http://scottyspot.tk

Sleep is a good thing.......

.........Especially when you haven't gotten any for a while. I have not been home since friday afternoon at about 3:00. I went to my sister's house for a while, then I had to work. I worked friday night from 8:30 to 4:00, then Saturday Morning from 6:00 to 1:00 in the afternoon, then had a car to fix for a guy (I work on cars and computers, and sell cars too for supplemental income), then I had to go to work again at 9:00, and I just finished not too long ago (it's a little after 4:00 am now). I really need to hurry up and become a millionaire so I don't have to work as much. I'm tired, so I'll get to the rest of the stuff.

Rant of the day:
Skunks. Dead ones in the road are BAD!!!! Someone hit a skunk in the middle of the road about half way to my house. You can smell the thing for a long ways off, but there is no way to avoid it. It really stinks.

Good thing of the day:
Late night radio. I like to listen to Coast to Coast AM at night while I am on my route. It keeps me entertained and awake during those late nights. Check out their site at http://www.coasttocoastam.com

Weather:
The bad stuff didn't get here like it was supposed to, and in fact it did not get as cold as it was supposed to (yet). Tomorrow is supposed to be cold, with a chance of accumulating snow, but that is less likely as time passes (the snow part). Today it actually hit nearly 50 degrees. I wish this was as cold as it would get, but winter has not even officially started yet.

Daily deer report:
Six tonight. I saw two sets of three deer. Both sets were in the middle of the road with no plans on getting out of the road in a hurry, so I had to stop and honk the horn to get them to move.


Goodnight everyone. Visit http://scottyspot.tk and sign my guestbook if you will. Thanks.

I love payday, but............

...........when I went in to get my check the boss was griping about the fact that I drive faster than 60 mph on I-65. The speed limit is 65 (yes, I know IN has really sucky speed limits), so I usually drive between 70 and 75. The boss thinks that there is a huge difference in fuel usage between 60 and 65 mph, but there isn't. I only use 1 1/2 gallons more diesel on a 200 mile trip than he does, and I drive 15 mph faster!!! Ohh well, what he don't know don't hurt, and since I get paid salary and not hourly I want to get done as soon as I can. I changed the thermostat in my sunbird today, but I still don't have much in the way of heat, so I guess it must be the heater core. I knew it was partially clogged, but I didn't want to have to tear apart the bottom of the dash to get to it. I guess if I want heat I wll have to though. And now *drumroll* for what you have been waiting for, the nightly stuff!!!

Rant of the day:
Telemarketers who somehow got my cell phone number. How did they get that?!?! They all need to just go away.

Good thing of the day:
A good vocabulary. Even though you may not believe it by reading my posts here I do have a decent vocabulary. My sister and her best friend found that out today when they finally got me to play Scrabble with them. I took 'em down. Really hard.

Weather:
It made it to the mid 40's today, and when I got in at 3:10 this morning it was 27. That's alot better than it has been, and much better than it is supposed to be on Sunday and Monday. The sun was out today, and there wasn't much wind, so it wasn't too bad for this time of year.

Daily deer report:
8 tonight. They were looking at me with their beady little eyes, just dareing me to drive a little faster. I almost hit one deer on the way home. It was in the middle of the road as I came around a curve at the bottom of a hill. There is a decent straightaway right after you cross the river and come around the curve there, so I usually nail it. Tonight Bambi decided he wanted to stand there, so I had to slam on my brakes. The thing stood there and stared at me! I had to wait until it decided to walk out of the road. I have noticed that deer aren't afraid of cars too much here.


Well, that's all tonight. I'm going to bed, so goodnight.

I missed posting yesterday..........

.........so I'll do both days worth today. I had a final exam in one of my classes yesterday (OLS 252), and one today (Spanish). I think I did fairly well on the one yesterday and really good on the one today. I still had to go to work with taking finals, but I have to make money somehow. When I got to the star tonight I saw one of the most messed up games of chess ever. There were two supervisors and two other drivers helping one of the drivers against the other, and the driver doing it on his own (actually the game was taken over by another driver when the first started to get papers) still won!!! I had some pretty good music on in the truck tonight, so I was jamming pretty good (you never want to hear me sing). Traffic was also pretty light on the highway tonight. Other than it being really cold (which I don't like) I had a decent day. Tomorrow it's supposed to get to a blistering (insert sarcasm here) 45 degrees, so I am going to work on my cars. I have to put a thermostat in one since the old thermostat stuck open leaving me with no heat, and on the other one I have to put a coolant temperature sensor and a crankshaft position sensor. I also have to go and take some pictures of a few cars for a guy so I can make him some flyers for them and also get them in the trader too. I hope he gets them sold so I can get some commission. I like commission. $$$$$$ I also need to sell a couple of my own cars too. I may have my Nissan Altima sold on Sunday *crosses fingers* but I still need to sell some more of my own cars. I would love to get all but the two I drive sold. Well, it's late (regardless of what the post time shows it's after 3:30 here), so I will get to the rest of the stuff.

Rant of the day:
SUVs. Why is it that when someone gets into an SUV their IQ drops? I drive roughly 2500 miles per week with my job and school, so I see lots of things on the road. I see more single vehicle accidents involving SUVs than all other vehicles combined! They either drive too slow, too fast (high profile vehicles have crappy handling), or a combination of the two. I am far more likely to see an SUV driver reading, writing, or on their laptop computer while driving than drivers of any other type of vehicle (I drive a truck, so I sit real high). Another thing is that SUV drivers are far more agressive on the road than other drivers. One thing I really hate is when I am trying to make a right hand turn in my car and someone in an SUV pulls up and blocks my view. I haven't noticed people who drive things like vans, pickups, and cars doing this, but most SUV drivers do. This is one of the few places I would agree with tree huggers. GET RID OF SUVs!!!!!

Good thing of the day:
Relaxing with friends. I had a nice time going to Fazolis after my final exam in spanish with a couple of classmates. We are going to get together during the break to meet at one of their houses to play cards and talk. It is relaxing to hang out and socialize.

Weather:
It only got to 28 degrees yesterday, and it was 14 when I got home at midnight, so I know it got colder. Today it was up to 36 here, and it was 17 less than an hour ago. The car I drove tonight (heat works in it) has leather seats. Non heated leather seats. Do you have any idea how cold leather can get? I really can't wait untill spring.

Daily deer report:
11 last night, and only 4 tonight. Since it's hunting season here I think some of them may be hiding. As long as they don't whack my car they can do what they want to do.


Goodnight everyone. Get some sleep!! ;)

It's the beginning of finals week.......

........and I haven't studied as much as I should have. Ohh well, I think I should do pretty good anyways. I went to my sisters house tonight after spanish class and played triple Yahtzee. We played six games, and ordered a couple of pizzas from Papa Johns. They have my favorite pizza in North Vernon. I am going to cut this part short tonight since I really need to study, so I'll get to the regular features.

Rant of the day:
Picture this, you walk out to get into your car (In a hurry too, since it's only 24 degrees outside) and when you unlock the door the alarm goes off for no reason whatsoever. Since the car is makeing a ton of noise, and the lights are flashing like crazy people start staring at you like you are trying to steal your own car. Why??? Because the car comes from the factory with a pos alarm system that wont go off when someone hits your car in a parking lot, but will go off when you try to unlock it with your key. Mazda makes crappy alarm systems for their cars.

Good thing of the day:
Papa Johns Pizza. It's nice to be able to relax. I love being able to call some place and have them deliver some hot, fresh food, and some nice cold soda. All for a good price too. On a cold night like tonight the drivers deserve a couple of extra dollars on their tip.

Weather:
Even colder today. I have been running around all day since it's my first day off of work in two weeks, so I have been out in it. My car has an outside thermometer built into the climate control, so rather than looking at what the car is supposed to be warmed up to I usually put it on outside temp. The warmest it was (from 2:00 pm on) today was 29 degrees. We also had a light dusting of snow too. I cant wait until spring.

Daily deer report:
Six today. I think they are in hiding because of the weather. Or maybe it's because of the rednecks who ride around with spotlights and guns poaching deer. Either way I wish they would stay away from the roads.

Goodnight everyone. Have pleasant dreams.

It's early in the morning........

.........and I haven't gone to bed yet. I got home from work about a half hour ago. It was pretty interesting to say the least. The guys at the Star were playing chess as usual when I got there. The guy that is in charge of getting the trucks out in an orderly manner (Kevin) was really acting weird tonight, and one of the drivers (Larry) was acting even weirder. If I weren't so tired I would elaborate on this some more. I guess it's time to write my regular features, then go to bed. Tomorrow is the start of finals week. Woo hoo.

Daily Rant:
Telemarketers. I hate telemarkerters, and the evil for which they stand (I don't really hate the people, just the job they do). I work late, so I sleep during the day. I do not appreciate getting 5 different telemarketers calling me before noon. I do not want to get 3 free magazines for buying 1 at something like $5 per week. When you point out to these guys that 4 year long subscriptions at $5 per week comes out to $260 per year, and that it is a horrible deal for the consumer they still try to get you to order. I would love to have the names and telephone numbers of every telemarketers so I could publish them all over the internet. I would make sure to call them a 3:00 am, and to get everyone I could to do so as well.

Good thing of the day:
Sometimes it's the simple things that are the best. If you ever want absolutely unconditional love frome something then get a pet. Whenever I walk outside my cat always comes up to greet me, and he also starts purring loudly to let me know he is happy to see me. I normally pick him up for a minute or two and hold him while petting him. It seems to make his day to have someone pet him and so he will either butt his face against you or lick your hand with his scratchy tounge. No matter how bad of a day I have my cat can make it seem better, at least for a few minutes.

Weather:
Cold again. Where's that global warming when you need it? It did make it into the mid 40s today, but then a cold front moved in. On the way to indianapolis tonight the wind was blowing so hard from the northwest (over 30 mph, sometimes gusting higher) that the truck I was driving could only do 55 mph sometimes with the throttle to the floor. There were also some periods of really light snow showers too. Wind chill anyone?

Daily deer report:
A new (minimum) record tonight!!!!! For the first time since I moved to my new house I only saw one deer. The previous record was five of them on the way home. Still, it only takes one to destroy a car.


Well, goodnight all. Don't forget to tell all of your friends about my blog and my site.

Hello, I'm Scotty.

Hello everyone, my name is Scotty, and I have decided to use this as a place to put some daily experiences, and whatever else I feel like doing. Some things will be on here regularly. Things like the daily deer report (I see tons of the walking road hazards every night on my way home from work/school), what the weather is like here (near North Vernon IN) each day, some kind of rant, and something good that happened to me or that I heard about. You will see in my writings that I have varied interests, but I'll leave you to make up your own mind about me.

Rant of the day:
I work as a truck driver for K and J trucking , where I haul anywhere from 5,000 to 6,500 newspapers per night, and sometimes during the day too, so I spend alot of time on the road. I am amazed at the way some people drive. Tonight on my way back from Indianapolis on I-65 I had the cruise control on the truck set at about 70 mph. The truck I drive at night is smaller than the day run truck since the papers are in carts. This truck (Hino 165) is very under powered for a vehicle the size that it is, so it takes a while for me to get up to cruising speed, and if I am going up hill or into the wind I can't even get it to go 70.
Tonight I was minding my own business, listening to Coast to Coast AM (a radio talk show about everything from UFOs, the paranormal, and government conspiracies to science and medicine) when someone in a minivan decided they wanted to pass me, then get right in front of me and slow down. They did this repeatedly for 30 miles. Each time they did it I either had to get in the other lane and pass them, or if there was traffic there to slow way down so I wouldn't hit them. Sometimes I wish I had a button that I could push to cause a persons vehicle to die and go to the side of the road.
Why do people do things like that? Do they not realize that a 24,000 pound vehicle will flatten their car? I wish I was in charge of giving drivers licenses.

Good thing of the day:
I stopped at the Waffle Steak (Waffle House for anyone outside of Indiana) for dinner tonight, as I do most nights on my way up to the Star. The people there are friendly, and the service is quick. I ordered a lighter than normal meal since I was running a little late, and didn't want to have to wait for my usual meal to be cooked. The cook was working on an order when I came in, but the person who ordered it changed their mind. Since it was the same as my usual order the cook gave it to me free of charge rather than waste it, so I got my normal meal, and still made it in time. That show what being a good customer who tips the waitresses decently will get for you.

Weather:
Freakin' cold. I really hate winter. Today it was in the mid 30's all day, and it was cloudy (as usual here lately) . We even had a few snow showers and a bit of cold rain too. I am beginning to think the sun will never come back to Indiana.

Dail deer report:
15 of the suckers tonight. Why do deer think roads a great places to hang out? I know 3 people who have hit deer in the past few months. I guess that's what full coverage insurance is for, but since I usually drive a convertable I do not want to whack a deer. I would hate to have one land on the top of my car, especially with me in it.


That's all for tonight. Visit my regular site if you get the chance. It's http://scottyspot.tk and don't forget to sign my guestbook.