Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Think Before You Post That Photo! in Kim Komando


wizardjournal.com

THINK BEFORE YOU POST THAT PHOTO!

So many social media websites, so little time. But you'd better think before you post that embarrassing photo or compromising video.  It could cost you more than just a red face.


Watching: Think Before You Post That Photo! in Kim on Komand @ TVKim:

'via Blog this'

Monday, May 28, 2012

Memorial Day 2012


Thanks for all our military heroes past and present for their service!
Including my step-dad Vic, my father Don, my uncles Clyde, Jim and Kaye, my mom's brothers and so many others.  This day is for you!


Friday, May 25, 2012

Obama's War on Coal

savethebills.com

I strive to stay away from political issues writing in this blog. Every person has a right to their own views and I'm certainly not going to change anyone's mind by being on a soapbox and proclaiming my opinions! My goal is to keep this blog entertaining for everyone.  In that light, I think the issue below is a very important one for our country and needs to be publicized. This world of ours needs energy to sustain our way of life. I can't believe our policy should be to try and shut down the coal industry, as our costs for energy will skyrocket and impact each and every one of us! I know, numbers are boring but please take a few moments and consider! Our entire economy is at risk. Thanks to Fox News.com for this piece.  Link to them below, Dan

Obama’s War on Coal has already taken a remarkable toll on coal-fired power plants in America. 
Last week the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported a shocking drop in power sector coal consumption in the first quarter of 2012. Coal-fired power plants are now generating just 36 percent of U.S. electricity, versus 44.6 percent just one year ago. 
It’s the result of an unprecedented regulatory assault on coal that will leave us all much poorer.
Last week PJM Interconnection, the company that operates the electric grid for 13 states (Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia) held its 2015 capacity auction. These are the first real, market prices that take Obama’s most recent anti-coal regulations into account, and they prove that he is keeping his 2008 campaign promise to make electricity prices “necessarily skyrocket.”
The market-clearing price for new 2015 capacity – almost all natural gas – was $136 per megawatt. That’s eight times higher than the price for 2012, which was just $16 per megawatt. In the mid-Atlantic area covering New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and DC the new price is $167 per megawatt. For the northern Ohio territory served by FirstEnergy, the price is a shocking $357 per megawatt.
Why the massive price increases? Andy Ott from PJM stated the obvious: “Capacity prices were higher than last year's because of retirements of existing coal-fired generation resulting largely from environmental regulations which go into effect in 2015.” Northern Ohio is suffering from more forced coal-plant retirements than the rest of the region, hence the even higher price.
These are not computer models or projections or estimates. These are the actual prices that electric distributors have agreed to pay for new capacity. The costs will be passed on to consumers at the retail level.
House Energy and Power Subcommittee Chairman Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.) aptly explained: “The PJM auction forecasts a dim future where Americans will be paying more to keep the lights on. We are seeing more and more coal plants fall victim to EPA’s destructive regulatory agenda, and as a result, we are seeing more job losses and higher electricity prices.”

The only thing that can stop this massive price hike now is an all-out effort to end Obama’s War on Coal and repeal this destructive regulatory agenda.
The Senate will have a critical opportunity to do just that when it votes on stopping Obama’s most expensive anti-coal regulation sometime in the next couple of weeks. The vote is on the Inhofe Resolution, S.J. Res 37, to overturn the so-called Utility MACT rule, which the EPA itself acknowledges is its most expensive rule ever.
This vote is protected from filibuster, and it will take just 51 votes to send a clear message to Obama that his War on Coal must end. 
Of course, Obama could veto the resolution and keep the rule intact, although that would force him to take full political responsibility for the massive impending jump in electricity prices.
I have a form set up at www.WarOnCoal.com  to make it easy to contact your senators on this crucial issue.
Phil Kerpen is president of American Commitment  and author of “Democracy Denied.” 

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2012/05/22/obamas-war-on-coal-hits-your-electric-bill/?intcmp=trending#ixzz1veN1UXx0


Thursday, May 24, 2012

Heavy Duty Pick-ups - Car & Driver Works Them Out!


Great comparison test of the new heavy duty diesel pick-ups from Chevy, Ford and Dodge, by Car and Driver magazine.  Link to their piece follows! Also a great video link below with some beautiful desert scenery near the Davis Dam in Nevada /Arizona! Thanks Car & Driver!

2012 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 LTZ 4WD Crew Cab vs. 2012 Ford F-250 Super Duty King Ranch 4x4 Crew Cab, 2012 Ram 2500 Laramie Longhorn 4x4 Mega Cab

Heavy Lifters: We take three extra strength pickups to the Nevada desert for a heavy-duty workout.



Heavy-duty diesel pickups are the true workhorses of America, with engines making as much as 800 pound-feet of torque and the might to tow an entire fleet of B-Spec racers to the track at once.
Until recently, the towing capabilities that manufacturers claimed for each model were largely conjured up independently in a very public game of chest-pounding one-upmanship. But the Society of Automotive Engineers has lent newfound conformity to towing numbers with the creation of its J2807 recommended practice, already adopted by the players here. SAE J2807 adds credibility to tow ratings by clearly defining the procedures used to determine them.
The key element of J2807’s various tow-vehicle acceleration and climbing requirements, which the SAE modeled on real-world roads, is the so-called Davis Dam test, an 11.4-mile ascent near the dam on the Arizona-Nevada border. Here, a truck has to climb 3000 feet without dropping below 40 mph. Averaging a five-percent grade on Arizona’s Highway 68, the desolate mountain route combines challenging inclines with scenic vistas of the Colorado River, the Davis Dam itself, and the snowbird gambling retreat of Laughlin, Nevada. Along with the surrounding desert roads, it’s the perfect setting for evaluating the latest crop of modern-day draft horses.
The top-spec rigs on these pages start at about $50,000 in four-door, four-wheel-drive luxury trim and, with diesel engines and all the extras, surpass the base price of an Audi A7 luxohatch. More than just work trucks, these overachieving cowboy Cadillacs embody the bigger-is-better ethos, heaping on extra helpings of attitude for their devoted followers. The stakes here are high, the bragging rights incalculable.
Last year saw a wholesale update of the segment, with General Motors reinventing the dirty bits of the Chevrolet Silverado (and GMC Sierra), including a stronger, boxed frame and fortified underpinnings, as well as revisions to the Allison six-speed automatic ($1200) and the 6.6-liter Duramax V-8 turbo-diesel ($7195), now good for 397 horsepower and 765 pound-feet of torque.
Not by coincidence, Ford gave its nearly four-ton F-series Super Duty a new 6.7-liter Power Stroke diesel V-8. That engine—a $7835 option (along with its six-speed automatic)—features a lighter, compacted-graphite-iron block, outboard intake ports, and a novel twin-compressor-wheel turbocharger in the cylinder valley. An even 400 horsepower and 800 pound-feet are the results. Ford also modified the frame, suspension, and steering, and fitted a new chrome face bearing a blue oval that may or may not have started life as a serving platter.
Chrysler, to keep up, also boosted the torque of the venerable 350-hp, 6.7-liter Cummins diesel inline-six ($7195) in its big Ram trucks to 800 pound-feet in late 2011. Featuring an upgraded six-speed automatic ($1100), it is the only powertrain here to use an NOx adsorber rather than urea injection in its exhaust to meet current federal emissions regulations.
To make the trucks actually break a sweat, we enlisted the help of  Titan Trailers of Waterville, Kansas, which graciously
supplied us with three tandem-axle, hydraulic dump trailers. We then loaded them with crushed rock for a gross trailer weight of 12,000 pounds each.
Hitching up was easy with the trucks’ integrated trailer-brake controllers and rearview cameras, so we hit the Davis Dam, the open desert, and Las Vegas Motor Speedway to see which pulled best.


2012 Ram 2500 Laramie Longhorn 4x4 Mega Cab

Third place: Heavy Lifters.


Having two fewer cylinders and the lowest tow rating (12,000 pounds) from a conventional frame-mounted hitch (these trucks can handle much more with a fifth-wheel hookup in the bed) put the enormous Ram Mega Cab at a disadvantage. Whereas the Ford and Chevy were barely fazed by their trailers’ weight, the Ram’s Cummins six would occasionally groan under the load and labor to accelerate on steep grades.
The 7950-pound Ram’s 8.5-second run to 60 mph and its 16.7 in the quarter-mile were each more than a half-second off the pace of the second-quickest Ford. To see how the rigs performed when caned, we repeated acceleration tests with the trailers attached, and the Ram again trailed the Ford, by 0.9 and 0.4 second, respectively.
The Ram also brought up the rear in observed fuel economy over 600 miles (9 mpg with the trailer, 12 without) and lateral grip (0.68 g), and it elicited moans from test drivers for its slow, cumbersome steering, stiff ride, and the occasional harsh shift.
But the Ram is unfailingly honest about its mission. “It sounds like it belongs at a truck stop,” noted senior editor Tony Quiroga. “The other two seem to hide their diesel sounds like they’re ashamed of their truckishness. Not the Ram.”
Despite being quieter than previous examples and generating the same 67 decibels as the Ford Super Duty at a 70-mph cruise, the Ram’s noise levels at idle (50 dBA) and wide-open throttle (72 dBA) were each several ticks higher than the muffled Ford’s and noticeably louder than the Chevy’s. It made all the classic diesel sounds, too, including an authentic Class 8 truck growl with the exhaust brake at work. Depending on how much you embrace the rest of the truck’s over-the-top vibe, the experience can be either grating or enticing.
The Mega Cab Ram’s comfort and convenience, however, were universally praised, from its limo-sized cabin (despite oddly low official interior measurements) to its Laramie Longhorn saddle-leather seats with a reclining rear bench. The Ram also brings great ergonomics and storage, including the handy RamBox bed compartments ($1295). Country-western detailing abounds, but we could live without the decorative filigrees and buckles on the seatbacks. Your fondness for the Ram’s interior will exist in direct proportion to the size of  your belt buckle.
Despite feeling strained at times by the heavy load, the Ram revealed strengths in other performance metrics. The brakes hauled this truck-and-trailer rig down from 70 mph in a best-of-test 315 feet. And the effectiveness of the exhaust brake and the transmission’s tow-haul mode meant that we rarely had to tap the brake pedal to maintain a safe speed down the steep descents near the Davis Dam.
Fans of the Cummins and long-haul luxury will find the Ram more than satisfactory, but it needs more muscle under the hood to excel in this company.


2012 Ford F-250 Super Duty King Ranch 4x4 Crew Cab

Second place: Heavy Lifters.


The first thing we noticed about the Ford F-250 was its quietness. In fact, this diesel monster is more hushed at a 70-mph cruise and wide-open throttle than the last Lexus ES350 we tested.
Our second observation was how strong the F-250 King Ranch felt on the move. Under full boost, the 7950-pound Ford repeatedly blasted up the grades on par with the Chevy.
The numbers tell the story, with the 340-pound-lighter Silverado consistently ahead at 60 mph and the more powerful Super Duty narrowing the gap considerably by the quarter-mile mark—both with and without the six-ton trailer along for the ride. In 30-to-50-mph and 50-to-70-mph acceleration, the two came in dead even at 3.9 and 5.1 seconds, respectively.
Backing the new Power Stroke V-8 is a revised TorqShift six-speed automatic and an exhaust brake that engages only when the tow-haul mode is activated (the Silverado and the Ram have dedicated dash buttons to enable exhaust braking). The transmission works well: It holds the proper gear while climbing and helps to slow the truck’s mass on downgrades. However, we noticed we had to apply the brakes often on descents to keep a steady speed.
The towering Ford impressed us by returning the best skidpad figure (0.73 g) at the track and tying the Chevy for fuel efficiency at 15 mpg unloaded, 10 mpg with the trailer. It required, however, a shocking 242 feet to stop from 70 mph. That’s two truck lengths plus about six feet longer than the Chevy. Not good.  And that’s before we hooked up the trailer.
The rest of the truck exhibited a solid balance of capabilities, including the best visibility, the lowest tailgate height, and the only bed with a retractable step ($375), a grab handle, and a factory-installed fifth-wheel mounting accommodation ($370).
Inside, there’s ample storage, a comprehensive information screen in the cluster, and enough rear-seat space for three Carhartt-clad roughnecks. Our full-fancy test example, with its King Ranch package ($4765) plus the King Ranch package with Chrome ($695), had enough open-range glitz and cowhide to almost justify its near-$65,000 asking price, the highest in the test. Noticeably absent was a navigation system, which would have added a larger monitor for the rearview camera and another $1875 to the sticker.
The F-250’s overall blend of grunt, civility, and usefulness indeed deserves a tip of the old Stetson, but it wasn’t enough for top honors.


2012 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 LTZ 4WD Crew Cab

First place: Heavy Lifters.


None of these trucks is remotely sporty, but the Silverado was clearly the most energetic of the group. At 7610 pounds, the Chevy was significantly lighter than the two others and was the easiest to maneuver in tight quarters. Plus, it offered the best ingress and egress. The Duramax V-8 and the Allison six-speed automatic transmission worked together to amazing effect, never seeming out of breath or in the wrong gear on grades.
One of the quickest GM diesel trucks we’ve sampled, the Silverado walked away in the unloaded-acceleration tests, hitting 60 mph in a carlike 7.1 seconds and the quarter in 15.7 at 89 mph. Those figures grew to 15.0 and 20.3 seconds, respectively, with the trailer attached, but the second-quickest Ford was still in the Silverado’s mirrors.
In the mountains, the Duramax always had power in reserve, as well as the best transmission programming and exhaust-brake setup for controlled descents sans wheel brakes. It was, ­however, the only truck to exhibit any untoward bucking movements from the trailer’s inertia.
The Silverado was also the only truck to pull a sub-200-foot stop from 70 mph (196 feet), and it teetered through the slalom more quickly than the others, at almost 40 mph. It was aided in this endeavor by the quickest and most responsive steering, as well as the only independent front suspension. Stopping prowess from 70 mph with the load (325 feet) and overall noise levels were midpack, and it tied the big Ford for best fuel economy.
Where the Chevy disappointed was in the area not addressed by the most recent update, namely the cabin, which has changed little since its 2006 debut. “This would be a cheap interior in a $30,000 truck,” noted one test driver. Compared with the others’ opulent fittings, the Silverado was a dismal place to sit: an expanse of chintzy, dark plastic; the least comfortable front seats; and the tightest rear quarters. While it was the only truck here with a back seat that folds up to make a flat load floor, it received additional demerits for a lack of clever storage, as well as a comparably small, low-res information screen in the gauge cluster. A detailed touch-screen navigation system ($2250) was its primary saving grace.
But those shortcomings didn’t overshadow the truck’s great drivability and pure brute strength. Moreover, the ­Silverado carried the lowest base and as-tested prices by a couple of grand and the least flash, which is nice if  you happen to be put off by the rhinestone glint of the other trucks.
Given each brand’s historically loyal tribes, most buyers will make up their minds regardless of how things play out on paper. And the segment’s fierce competitiveness won’t let one player get too far ahead for too long. But right now, in this class of high-end haulers, the Silverado gets our nod for the best of what matters.


Wednesday, May 23, 2012

When Compliance Doesn't Equal Safety!


On the Road Blog by Jim Park, Equipment Editor
Jim Parks of truckinginfo.com has a great blog that I link to at the bottom. Here is a great piece from 4/18/2010 that is definitely worth taking a look back. Fatigue management versus compliance. This is a tragic story, when are the Feds going to get it? Probably never! Thanks Jim!
4/18/2010
Finally, a fatigue-related crash has come to the forefront that exposes the chasm that often exists between safety and compliance.
The National Transportation Safety Board last month released its report on the tragic truck crash near Miami, Okla., that claimed 10 lives in June 2009. It cited driver fatigue stemming from acute sleep loss and circadian disruption as the principal cause of the crash. There was no mention of hours-of-service violations, falsified logs, speeding, substance abuse, or any other illegal activity. The driver, Donald Creed, age 76, was totally compliant at the time, and had been since he hired on with the company in 1992, company and DMV records show.
NTSB found no fault with the truck, the carrier's safety record, or Creed's driving history, yet 10 people died because of a simple failing of human nature: Creed apparently became unaware of his surroundings for a brief instant because he was sleepy. The crash showed the classic signs of an asleep-at-the-wheel scenario: no skid marks prior to impact, and many witnesses say he took no evasive action and made no attempt to avoid the crash. NTSB stopped short of saying he was asleep at the wheel, because that cannot be proven, but Creed was obviously oblivious to the developing situation.
Accident reconstruction evidence shows that Creed, traveling eastbound on I-44 between milepost 320 and 322, would have had line-of-sight view for about 1.5 miles of a previous crash that occurred minutes earlier at MP 321.76, and a clear view of that accident scene from about one-quarter of a mile away. It's hard to imagine any task inside the cab that would have occupied the driver's attention for 15 seconds or longer, distracting him to the point that the previous crash scene escaped his attention.

ON AUTOPILOT?

If Creed wasn't technically asleep at the wheel, he was certainly on autopilot - a situation I'd bet a lot of drivers have experienced but would be loath to admit. It's a sort of semi-asleep/semi-awake condition where time and miles pass that cannot be recalled. Many will have had moments where they realize they are at a certain place but can't remember getting there, or passing a certain landmark. I'm unaware of a technical definition for this condition, but I've been there, too.
I once worked for a carrier that regularly ran me on a grueling rotation of four 15-hour shifts (under the previous Canadian HOS rules) beginning at 4 on Thursday afternoon, ending at 8 on Monday morning. I'd stay awake the night before I began the rotation and sleep late trying to advance my circadian clock. I often grabbed a nap in the afternoon prior to beginning work, as well. Still, I started my week's work without the benefit of a solid period of core sleep, and as the workweek progressed, it got worse. Commuting to and from work, and trying to sleep during the daylight hours, left me with no more than 4-5 hours of decent sleep per off-duty period.
In many ways, that scenario was alarming similar to Creed's situation.
He had worked 23 days in 60 days prior to the crash, and was off the three days prior to the crash shift. On the day of the crash, Creed began work at 3 a.m., after what NTSB describes as no more than five hours of sleep. He had just came off three days at home, where he presumably would have slept at normal times during the night and remained awake at normal times during the day. He was just getting back into the nightshift groove.

The crash occurred at 1:20 p.m., 10 hours into his workday, and after fewer than eight hours behind the wheel. By hours-of-service standards, he was well within the law. However, a more immutable law was in effect here: Creed's circadian cycle. This is my supposition, not NTSB's official version of the story, but it seems likely that he was at a low point in his circadian cycle, and on a flat, straight, and featureless stretch of roadway with the cruise control on under hot sunny skies. With little in the way of external stimulation to keep him focused, Creed when into what I call autopilot.
My workshift, as described earlier, was worsened by the fact that the company frowned on napping during the shift. We had a 16-hour window in which to work 15 hours, and I usually worked every minute of those hours. Company policy prohibited drivers from exceeding 16 running hours in a shift because trucks were scheduled out with another driver, so whenever I napped and exceeded the company's 16-hour limit, I got a letter for violating company policy. That happened a lot. I kept napping and the letters kept coming, but for some odd reason they never fired me. Nor did the company adjust its policy, or my workshift.
I know what it's like to drive tired, and I'm not unique in that regard. Most drivers have been up against that wall at sometime in their careers. If Creed's situation played out as I described it, I'd have a hard time faulting him entirely for what happened.

MANAGING FATIGUE
Fatigue is a very insidious thing. We tend to think we can stay awake even though all the cells in our bodies are screaming for sleep. We push on, turning up the radio, slapping our faces, doing mental arithmetic, whatever, to stay awake. Eventually, if pushed far enough, we fall asleep. As sleep experts and scientists all agree, it can happen in an instant and we won't even be aware of it, despite our efforts at staying awake.
Simply having available hours is not a good hedge against fatigue. One can be dead tired, but perfectly compliant at the same time. Unfortunately, available-hours means good-to-go, and that's just what most drivers do. Current HOS rules discourage napping, and missing an appointment or refusing a dispatch can have expensive and career-limiting consequences.
Fatigue management, in the truest sense of the word, would be a far better crash mitigation tool than HOS could ever be. Allowing drivers to govern their own work lives according personal needs for sleep, and arming them with a better understanding of the causes and effects of fatigue, would go a long way toward reducing incidents like the one at Miami, Okla. But fatigue management layered on HOS is kind of redundant. Legally defined minimums and maximums tend to become standards. Work shifts and delivery schedules are built around maximum driving availability and minimum rest periods. Turning from that to a program where drivers are encouraged and empowered to manage their time according to personal needs would could cost millions to implement and billions in lost productivity.
Still, I've been on aircraft where, following an unplanned delay, the crew has walked off the plane citing potential conflict with aviation HOS rules, leaving several hundred very angry passengers stranded while a replacement crew was found. Aviation regulations grant pilots the authority -- in fact, pilots are compelled to act accordingly -- to ground flights that may exceed their available duty hours, and they are protected by the regulations against company retribution.
I wish trucking regulations afforded drivers similar protection. It doesn't seem from the NTSB report that Creed was under any pressure to continue his run despite his tired state, but had he known more about the effects of fatigue and the physiology of sleep, he might have recognized an impending disaster and taken steps to avoid it. The only known cure for fatigue is sleep, and sleep is better taken in the bunk than behind the wheel.
May those 10 souls rest in peace.

Read more about fatigue management in the November issue of Heavy Duty Trucking magazine.

http://www.truckinginfo.com/on-the-road/news-detail.asp?news_id=71940&news_category_id=121

Monday, May 21, 2012

CSA Score - Be Completely Without Fault and You Still Get Hit!



Guest Post by and thanks to Jeff Head. Friend him on Facebook!


I checked my CSA 2010 points yesterday. I was hoping that by now that I would have zero points showing. Not that I ever had any kind of big number, twelve being the highest it had ever been. No such luck though this time around. Remember that accident that I was involved in about a month ago. You know, the one where no one received any kind of a ticket because an object came out of nowhere, sailing through the air, taking out the windshield of a car. Once it hit the car and that driver knocked silly, lost control and in turn hit me in the rear and then another vehicle. You know the accident that the police report said that no one at the scene was at fault; no tickets issued. Well, just for the fact that I, an honest hard working person holding a CDL was there and while involved but not in any way at fault, I get six points added to my CSA record.

I do not get it, why would they want to do this to a person. Do they not know that we safe and legal truck drivers take great pride in keeping a perfect record? Do they not understand that they might just as well have keyed my brand new car and have received the same reaction to my moral, my pride? Why should I or anyone else give one flying flip about even trying to run legal if no matter how safe and legal we drive, they are going to ding us anyway. I did everything right that day including maneuvering my truck to save further damage and lives and they whack me with points against my record.

Now, for the umpteenth time, they are trying to force each truck on the road into using Electronic On Board Recorders again. So all they do with them as far as I can see is use the information to make even more safe and legal drivers into renegades. Maybe it is just me but the authorities have done a very poor job of enforcing needed regulations on the folks that continue to break the rules. All they are doing is creating an environment in which if you even so much as sneeze, you are in some way breaking some trucking rule and therefore should be treated as a killer trucker. I have news for them, I will run safe and save lives long before I run legal and kill someone. If that puts me out then so be it.

As things are now no one, not even God himself can maneuver through the minefields of this over regulated yet poorly enforced trucking hell that our government has created. They have slipped deep into a scorched earth policymaking mentality that they in some way hope will catch enough bad actors and remove them from the industry. Instead, all they are doing is destroying the moral of hard working safe and legal drivers like me. The renegades continue on ignoring the rules, nothing changes.

Maybe it is just me. Maybe I am a little off my rocker in this, but do you not think instead of dinging a driver for doing nothing wrong it might be an idea to maybe say, "Hey driver, great job handling you rig in a safe and professional way the other day." Heck, I would have been happy if no one said or done anything at all. That would at least have kept my perfect record intact and my moral as a driver on the up and up. People work hard to achieve these sorts of goals and to have that destroyed really kind of sucks. It will take three years to clear those points and at this point, I no longer really care. Why should I? If all it takes is for someone else to involve you to destroy your perfect record, then you have no control whatsoever. You cannot win; they will take you out regardless of how hard you try.

So I would like to thank the FMCSA and all their great work tonight for their efforts and their moral destroying regulations. I am quite sure that if they continue on this present path, that it will not be long at all before any reasonable person that wishes to stay within the law will realize that a trucking career will only destroy that goal. That no matter how hard one might try, that you will be dinged for following the rules even faster than if you just ignore them.

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Sunday, May 20, 2012

How I Met Saddam's Soldier!


thetension.blogspot.com
Back in 1999, I spent almost all of the summer working in Phoenix.  Ryder had signed new business with three customers and I had to be down there helping get quite a few drivers hired, oriented and trained.  One of the accounts was for a customer that involved night deliveries to convenience stores using straight trucks. The experience required for these drivers was less than that of tractor trailer drivers, minimum of one year and  a Class B CDL license.
I remember reviewing this driver's application, interviewing and road testing him, nothing unusual got my attention.  I knew he was of Middle Eastern decent but really didn't pay much attention.  After we hired him, I rode along with him on the route for a few days for training.  He had a pretty thick accent and I really had to listen carefully to be able to understand him. One night as we were driving along I asked him what country he was from originally and he said “Iraq”. Well, this was well before 9/11 and from what I knew about Iraq, that was the country ruled by Saddam that invaded Kuwait back in the early 90’s during the first President Bush's term in office.  During a short war, we kicked their butts all the way back to Baghdad and they supposedly surrendered. I can’t remember this driver’s name, but he then told me that he had been in the Iraq war.  I said “you fought against Saddam?” and he said “no, I was in Saddam’s Army”.
That statement was quite a shock to me as I had all these thoughts racing through my head about how the heck could he have ended up here in the United States and wondering if I’m riding along in a truck with some crazy terrorist driving it!
It took a few moments, but I finally asked “you mean you fought against us?” In fractured English, he replied “oh yes, but I surrendered”. I said “you surrendered to the United States?” and he said ”yes”. I then replied with “well, how the hell did you end up here?” He then followed up with a fascinating story of how every young male in Iraq was forced to be in the military and the only reason for a lot of them to be there was to avoid torture or imprisonment. He told me he was scared to death of the US military and the first chance he had, he went running up to a US patrol with a white flag and surrendered. I asked what happened after that and he said they interrogated him and stuck him in prison for three years. After about three years, the officials determined that he was not a threat to us and asked him what he wanted to do. He could not go back to Iraq as he would certainly be killed for deserting. His mother and the rest of his family had no contact with him all the years after his surrender and thought he had been killed in the war. He was offered the opportunity to come to the United States and he took it.
So he got over here, went to Phoenix, found a job and started working his way up and making a life for himself. I remember him saying that he had wished so much for us to go all the way into Baghdad and finish off Saddam when we had the chance. He was longing for the day he could see his mom and family again. I hope he was able to accomplish that. He was a decent guy.
It is amazing some of the people you meet by chance in life!

Iraqi soldiers quick to wave white flags

*
[Photo: AP]
Iraqi soldiers attempt to surrender to journalists in a military convoy Friday. Military police specially trained in handling prisoners or war will be in charge of captured Iraquis.


Donald Driver & Peta - They're in the Final!



Great interview with Donald Driver thanks to Kendra Meinert of the Green Bay Press Gazette! Link to their site follows. Come on Packer Nation Donald and Peta need your votes this week to take that Mirror Ball back to Green Bay!

Forget about that elusive 10 from stubborn judge Len Goodman.
Donald Driver has.
He’s moved on to loftier goals.
The Green Bay Packers all-time leading receiver isn’t just setting his sights on winning the Mirror Ball Trophy on Tuesday night’s “Dancing With the Stars’’ finale, he wants to make voting history.
In an exclusive interview with the Green Bay Press-Gazette on Friday, Driver said he’s looking for such an outpouring of votes from Packer Nation during Monday’s show that it sets a record for most votes ever in the 14-year history of “DWTS.’’ And he wouldn’t mind making all those Pittsburgh Steelers fans who propelled former wide receiver Hines Ward to ballroom glory in Season 12 pale by comparison, either. “Three years ago, the Steeler Nation carried Hines Ward to the Mirror Ball. What I need is the same thing – but more. I need Packer Nation to carry me through the Mirror Ball and then also blow Steeler Nation out the window,’’ Driver said by phone from Los Angeles during an early morning interview before his eight to nine hours of rehearsals with partner Peta Murgatroyd. “We beat ’em in the Super Bowl, why not beat ’em in ‘Dancing With the Stars’?’’ After nine weeks of competition, it’s down to Driver & Murgatroyd, William Levy & Cheryl Burke and Katherine Jenkins & Mark Ballas for ballroom bragging rights. In what has been widely regarded as the most competitive season ever of the ABC competition, fan votes likely will be more crucial than judges’ scores in determining who gets to hoist the championship Mirror Ball Trophy. “We want to make sure we beat Steeler Nation. I think that will push Packers fans to do it. Hines won it with ease, and I think that’s we have to do,’’ Driver said. “William Levy is going to have a big crowd with the Latin community… I’m hoping we can take it and set a record for the most votes ever on ‘Dancing With the Stars.’ We need to make history.’’ In anticipation of his final dances, Driver talked about why he wants to win for his partner, why his fellow dancers all want to take his kids home with them, his likability factor with viewers and why he’s looking forward to getting home to Green Bay.
You always say you’re not nervous and you never look it. But given how tight Monday’s finals are, aren’t you just the least bit?

I’m never nervous. I’ve always felt like my nervous part is throughout the week. Wednesday through Sunday I’m probably the most nervous person out there. But then Monday comes, the lights come on and the cameras, and I’m fine. I just know now I can’t control it. I’ve just got to go out there and have fun. I know if I do that I can’t look back and go, “Well, I wish I could fix this, I wish I could fix that.’’ I think Peta knows that about me. In dress rehearsal and camera block, I can mess up five, six times and be off timing, but she knows, for whatever reason, that I’m very, very focused come Monday once we go live.
What do you see as the advantage you and Peta have over the other two couples?
I think what me and Peta have, and I think it’s been focused on all the way throughout this competition, is the chemistry we have. So many people have said to us, “You guys seem like you’re having so much fun. You guys have that great chemistry.’’ … I think that’s where we stand against everyone else. We’re never arguing with each other. We’re talking through the dance. She’s listening to my input, and I’m also listening to her input to make sure that I nail the routine. So that at the end of the day, we can’t worry about the person next to us or we can’t worry about the crowd. All we can worry about is each other.
Not expecting you to spill many details here, but any hints at all about what we can expect from your much-anticipated freestyle dance?
I will say this: It’s totally different than what someone would expect. Most people expect me to come out and probably do hip-hop or something normal. It’s going to be completely different than what people expect me to have.
You’ve said you want to win the Mirror Ball for Peta, because it’s like her Super Bowl, but how much do you want it as well?
I’m very competitive. I’ve been competitive all my life, and I’m going to continue to be that way until I’m gone. I think, for me, to have that trophy and to be a part of something so special, it makes you want it more. When I first came into this competition, I told Peta my goal, first of all, was not to be voted off first. And then as the weeks went on, I told Peta that we have a chance to win this, so let’s win it now. I told her … “This is your show. I’m just a part of it.’’ She’s like, “No, no, it’s you.’’ No. We’re riding a rollercoaster right now, and I’m going to get off that rollercoaster, and I’m going to take my Mirror Ball and I’m going back to Green Bay, Wis. You’re going to continue to ride that rollercoaster with the next person, and if you continue to ride that rollercoaster and be on top, then no one can ever take that away from you. When we won the Super Bowl, nobody could ever take that from me. I have that ring now. I have the hardware to prove it, and I’m a Super Bowl champion. That’s always going to be on my resume. You win “Dancing With the Stars’’ and it will always be on your resume. The good part about it is that will always be on my resume. too: Super Bowl champion and “Dancing With the Stars’’ champion. And that’s not a bad thing to have.
If you win the Mirror Ball but still don’t get a 10 from Len Goodman, will you be disappointed?
I have gotten to the point where I can’t worry about Len. I can’t worry about the judges anymore. It was a proven fact last week that you can have a 30 and still go home. That’s what happened to Maria (Menounos). For me, I need to go out there and dance my best, hoping I can dance the dance so well that the millions and millions and millions of Packers fans and “Dancing With the Stars’’ fans and everybody that’s just a fan of mine will vote me to win the Mirror Ball. Then I can always look at the judges down the road and say, “Len, why did you never give me that 10?’’ But I have the Mirror Ball to prove I am the champion. So sometimes the score doesn’t really matter, it’s what matters with fans.
A prominent “DWTS’’ blogger referred to you as quite possibly the most likable person to ever be on the show. How do you feel about that?
Wow. That makes me feel special, because … Oh wow. It makes me feel amazing, because I treat people like I want to be treated. I never treat people like I am the celebrity and you work for me. People on “Dancing With the Stars’’ have said, “Donald you just treat people so nice.’’
Well, I’m no better than you. I’m no better than the man that opens the door at a hotel. I’m no better than a janitor at a school. Because my mom did all that. If you see your mom out there and she’s working in the hotel and she’s cleaning bathrooms and she’s the maid, it makes you appreciate life so much more, because you don’t have to treat that person like that person is the maid. You treat that person like that is a true human being. I think that’s where I stand.
Much has been made about William Levy’s sexiness and how it’s his secret weapon. But you’re not exactly a slouch in that department, either.
I think people look at me and think I may be a sexy guy, I may have all the tools to it, but what I think people also look at is I’m also married. People respect that I’m married, so they don’t scream and yell, “Oh, I love you, Donald!’’ … Now William, on the other hand, he’s single – he has a girlfriend, a fianceé – but he’s still single. So, of course, people can see that in a different way. … People love William Levy. The women are going nuts every time he walks on the floor. They just start screaming. I know if they’re doing it on the show, believe me, they’re doing it at home as well. That’s his leverage on this show. He has the ability to be that person for the women.
Speaking of women, it seems what they most often want to know is how your wife handles all that sexiness with Peta on the dance floor.
She is very cool about it. I have embraced the moment of not embarrassing and disrespecting my wife. So I’ve always asked Betina what does she think about this. Come to the show and watch me rehearse. She’s done that. She feels comfortable being at rehearsal and watching what I’m going to do. She critiques me from the beginning of the rehearsal to the end of the rehearsal and even when we get back home. “Baby, that’s not sexy enough. It has to be this way. I think you should do it that way. Or baby, that’s not emotional. You’ve got to show your face more.’’ She’s always my biggest critic, and that helps me, because I know if my wife is OK with it … then I can just go out there and perform and not worry about trying to hold back anything.
Two of your kids, Christian and Christina, have become regulars on “DWTS.’’ How often are people telling you how adorable they are?
Oh, I hear it all day, every day. It’s just so crazy what my kids have instilled in other people, (which is) a respect level. … Maria, Karina (Smirnoff), Katherine, Peta, all the women always ask, “Oh my God, can I just take your kids home? They’re so respectful. I just want to bundle them up and keep them.’’ And you go, “Oh yeah, go ahead, take them home for an hour and you’ll bring them back.’’ (Laughs.) It’s all about respect. They have to respect the adults. They have to say, “Yes, mam. Yes, sir. No, mam. No, sir.’’
That has to make you a proud dad.
I know I’ve done my job, and I’m going to have to continue doing my job until I’m dead and gone. Even when they get into their 20s and 30s and start having their own kids, then the dad turns into the grandfather and still says, “Hey, you can’t say that.’’
What has surprised you most about your “DWTS’’ experience?
I think the biggest thing for me has been the atmosphere around Hollywood. I’ve always come into L.A. to either play a game or just visit a friend and then turn around and leave, so to be here as long as we’ve been here -- almost three months -- this is totally different. I can’t wait to get back to Green Bay. It’s just so down to earth. You see people, you laugh, you joke, you go to the grocery store and they talk to you every day. Here, it’s more Hollywood. You have paparazzi. You have people jumping out at you taking pictures of you when you don’t want to. It’s just crazy, crazy, crazy. I think that’s the biggest thing that surprised me, because I’ve heard about Hollywood, but now I really get the experience. … It’s more than we expected, but I think we need to stay in our own little cocoon.
What have you learned about yourself through this process?
I’d say the thing I’ve learned about myself is I really can dance. I think, at first, I was like, I can go to a party and I can hold my own but … To transition from a straight football player that had never taken dance before, to become -- I don’t want to say a great ballroom dancer at this point, because there’s more that you can learn -- but I became a good ballroom dancer. … That’s very tough, because my wife is like, “You’re gooood.’’ So that puts a smile on my face, knowing I made her happy as well.
If you win the Mirror Ball Trophy, will you be back in Green Bay with it?
When I win this Mirror Ball, I’m going to bring the Mirror Ball back to Green Bay. The show’s over Tuesday. I’ll be back in Green Bay probably Wednesday or Thursday, and I’ll bring the trophy. I’m thinking we may end up doing something so we can celebrate with the fans, just like when we won the Vince Lombardi Trophy. I think it’s something I can’t win alone. I couldn’t win the Vince Lombardi Trophy alone. It takes a team to win that. It also took Packer Nation to support us through the season. This is the same thing. The “Dancing With the Stars’’ trophy, I could not do this alone, because I need the fans to make sure I win it. So once I win that, I want to celebrate it with them. I want to bring it wherever we need to have it, if that’s at the (Lambeau Field) Atrium or at the stadium or wherever we have to go -- even if we have to go to the parking lot. I want fans to experience it. I want fans to see it. I want people to take pictures with it, because I didn’t do it alone. We all need to celebrate the moment, because this is truly something that I don’t think Packer Nation as well as myself will ever forget. To be the first Packer player to do “Dancing With the Stars,’’ that’s big. If I can celebrate with them, then that’s how we’re going to celebrate it.
You caused a lot of speculation amongst sports reporters last week over your “I’m a Packer for life’’ tweet. Care to shed any light on that?
I think so many people right now are worried if I’m going to be a Packer. I’m still under contract. My contract is not over with the Packers. I will be a Packer for life. I don’t think that’s ever going to change. I think that’s what I want the fans to understand. Don’t worry. If you haven’t heard it from me or you haven’t heard it from the Packers, you can’t listen to the reporters, the media. You can’t listen to them. You have to trust me, and you also have to trust the Packers that I will be a Packer for life. They have given me the opportunity for the last 14 years, I don’t think it’s going to change now. We’re here forever.
Before hanging up, Driver wanted to add one last thing …
“Make sure you put at the bottom of that article that Donald Driver said he loves everyone. I think everyone knows that.’’
http://greenbayhub.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20120520/GPG0505/120518124/-1/GPG050501/Donald-Driver-calls-Packer-Nation-make-Dancing-history