Last nut in the can

I was talking to the Love of My Life today and I figured out why it sounds so empty in here.

I'm the last nut in the can, rattling around with nothing to do.

Great big hollow echo, with a pinhead bouncing off the walls.

That would be me, folks.

The most important part of my life is a continent away.

Weather

What the heck happened to the California weather you see on Babe Watch? I've been riding rodeo in the Mobile Survival Facility. The wind is bad enough to make it feel that I'm on the road behind the truck.

Last night I would wake to the roaring of the wind, then it would hit like a solid blow to the walls, and then shake the place fit to roll me out of the bed.

A little bit ago I was trying to type, and started to feel queasy because I was shaking and looking at something too close to my eyes.

It's rained enough to produce spot flooding, and snow down to about two thousand feet.

I want to see the weather you always see in the movies!

Yep, that'll help.

Over due for Blog Love

I am an under motivated worm, I can only ask forgiveness. There are several bloggers that I should have added to my blogroll months ago. They're a great read, and people who have an interesting outlook.

http://phlegmfatale.blogspot.com/

Phlegmfatale, a hoot to read, with some interesting insights.

http://boobsinjuriesanddrpepper.blogspot.com/

Crystal McKnob, always empty your hands and mouth when reading Boobs, Injury's and Dr. Pepper. Class one beverage alert perpetually in place.

http://maypeacebewithyou.blogspot.com/

The home of Matt G. writer and police officer extraordinaire. As shown by the collaboration with Babs and AD an excellent writer and family man.

These are a few of the good ones I read regularly.

Avila Beach, Ca.

Another day in the life of a Road Wh......Tech

I have finished my training except for practicals. Things like anti-contamination clothing, fall protection, and Human performance training. I have a while before my next class, I get to eat today, and will finish early.



I think it's time to start the accounting process for tax purposes next year. That means adding up the bills for now and organising them in files. Thousands of receipts would make the job pretty rough to do all at once.

I am 250 miles from San Fransisco, I would give more than I care to think about to have the Love of My Life with me. We spent a few of the best days we have had in SF. I have a three day weekend starting Friday. This would be an opportunity too good to miss.

I looked at the ocean today, where the waves were breaking on rocks near the surface, and I thought, Leviathan.

The most beautiful site I have been to.

New Job, new place, new scenery

I'm in California at the Diablo Canyon Plant. My soon to be function is leak rate testing. That means I use mass air flow instruments to determine the leakage through primary containment valves. Leakage sounds bad, but actually its a matter of degree. Total allowable leakage per hour amounts to less than a couple of minuets heavy breathing.

These lovely people are going to pay me hideous amounts of money to do very little, luckily, I do it very well.

Today I grew square eyeballs doing computer based training for a long list of things I either already know, or don't really have to know. OK, pay me!

This plant is the first I have been to that is in a populated area. Every thing I need is with in a few miles. The most distant required location is the plant, four miles to the entrance and seven miles of drive way. The drive on the access road is the prettiest I have seen. The Pacific on one side and beautiful hills and desert on the other.

I have found out that there is a nekkid beach right down the road. Fear not, I have no plans to embarrass my self, or entertain the neighbors. I took some pictures of the cliffs and beach to send to the Love of My Life, and some of the locals were neglecting to display modesty garments. It's a little odd, from a half mile or so away it's not obvious, but it attracts your attention. I have 20/16 vision, and I couldn't see proof positive, but you know anyway. Why is that? I don't care, its their neighborhood, and their life.

What happened to the "Southern California Weather" ? It never rains in southern California? Well it was pounding on the "Mobile survival facility" a little bit ago. It's unpleasantly cold and damp right now, I'm hoping for improvement soon. Just cold would be good.

Spell checker is a punk, I don't like some of the options.

A Most Interesting Trip

I have completed a twenty eight hundred mile trip in three days.

Yee-Hah!

It was about as much fun as a root canal sans numbing. I have added a third fuel tank to my truck, so I can carry a hundred gallons of diesel with twenty of that in reserve in the rear tank. The weight of the rig, truck and camper, something over thirteen thousand pounds, that translates to about ten mpg, depending on the grade. I saw seven pounds of turbo boost and twelve hundred degrees of turbo outlet temp. I was afraid I would melt something off the exhaust. I had to downshift four times for load and once for temps. A thousand miles is about fifteen hours in the seat. Add the usual opportunities and it gets near eighteen hours.

Murphy lives, but only until I find him.

Nadine the Navigator (GPS), or less pleasantly known as "The 8itch in the box", drug me through; Butt Crack Georgia, Armpit Arkansas, Anus Alabama, Carbuncle California, Goose Pimple New Mexico, and a whole raft of places that don't even bear contemplation.

At seven thirty 1-18-08 in Grants New Mexico, that would be today, it was four degrees with a fifteen to twenty mph wind. That puts the wind chill down well below zero. That sucks, I don't care where you're from.

The non professional drivers are as stupid as I remember them being, and the pros's are still a$$ holes. One of them is lucky I am more calm in my old age. He was screaming at me over the radio because my driving speed wasn't as consistent as he wanted. Instead of inviting him to pull over and get face to face, I had been watching him for a long time and continued to watch him for hours after, I just called him a liar and a fool, politely and a shade too subtle for him to realise it, and continued as before. Pounding some one who has to peer through the steering wheel just makes you look petty.

I saw a Golden Eagle for the first time, it is as big as a medium hound, sitting on the cross tree of a power pole in Arizona, looking for a Jack Rabbit I expect. Beautiful and unexpected.
The Ravens are the pimps of the crow family, they look like a crow the way the Sopranos look Italian.

I found out those big tractors that are burning up the road, only get .75 gallon to one gallon per mile. WOW!!!

I only turned the music on for a few minuets, one time. I was too busy listening to the truck.

And to end a long gruelling trip poorly, when I started to re crank the truck to pull forward a few feet, ALL power cut off, bad connection on the starter I believe, but aggravating anyway.