First of all, today. Right now, I have a loaf of bread rising in the bread machine. We are just about out of bread, so I decided it was time to make another loaf, or I will not get any lunches this coming week. Because of the hours I worked this past week, I was in bed at 9:00pm last night. Didn't get up until about 8:00am this morning. Got a pot of coffee going and then went outside to get the paper. Right there, on the front page, was the following......Average temperature for the first week of June for the past 60 years-59.2. Average temperature for the first week of June, 2008-52.5. It is cold and raining outside right now. Really starting to get tired of all the cold and rainy weather we are having around here. It is supposed to be SUMMERTIME. Yeah, I know, summer doesn't officially start until the 21st of June, but still.......it is supposed to be a whole lot warmer then it is. But........I guess we are not the only ones having this kind of cold, wet weather.
Now, this past week. The regular dispatcher in the morning is currently on vacation, so I get to fill in for him. So, instead of working my regular shift, which is 0400-1400 on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays, I am working 0300 to 1100, or 1200 or whenever I want to go home, five days a week. That means I have to get up at 0130 in the morning in order to be at work by 0300. That means going to bed early in the evening, like 1800 (not gonna happen, too early), 1900 if I can, but must be in bed by 2000. Anyway, getting back to work. The company I work for is installing a new computer system for the trucks. It is called XATA (pronounced za-da). I have learned quite a bit about it while working in the office, so I have also been teaching drivers how to use it. Right now, it is kinda fun and exciting to be learning some new technology, but I am sure that after awhile, it will become quite routine and boring. One of the neat things about XATA is, if a store calls and wants to know where their freight is, I can go to the computer and bring up the truck that the driver has and have his exact location pinpointed on a map. I can also get all kinds of other information about that, or any of our other trucks, also. Like how fast he is going, what direction he is traveling, if he is stopped, how long he has been stopped, if he is stopped at a store, rest area, or any thing else like that. There are some drivers who think that this is nothing but a "Tattle-tale", but they thought the same thing about the last computer system we had in our trucks and, to tell you the truth, I don't know of any one who got into any kind of trouble because of what the computer recorded.
Is this some kind of "Big-Brother" thing? so the company can keep track of everything we do and everywhere we go? Well, I guess it could be looked at that way, but after all, it is not our equipment that we are driving, it belongs to someone else. With the high cost of everything these days, and no relief in the foresee-able future, I kinda think that any tool an employer can use to cut costs will be used. And that is kinda what XATA is designed to use. For example, if XATA shows that all the drivers drive the same average distance between point A and point B, but there is one driver who drives a longer distance between those same two points, then they can talk to him and find out why he is always taking a longer route to the point. At the same time, if all the drivers take about the same time to do a particular route, but one driver always takes a considerable longer time, Why?
The employers job is to be as efficient and cost effective as possible. But he can only do that if all the workers are doing their jobs as efficient and cost effective as possible. I kinda think that XATA can be used to weed out those people who are constantly dragging the conscientious workers down. This way, instead of making rules for all the drivers, good and bad, the company can talk to those who are not pulling their weight, and get them straighten out, or maybe even get rid of them.
At this point, I am going to try to lighten up this post a little bit. I know, it got kinda heavy there for a while, but while writing this post, the following e-mail came in from a friend of mine at church..........
Post Turtle
While suturing a cut on the hand of a 75 year old Texas rancher, whose hand was caught in a gate while working cattle, the doctor struck up aconversation with the old man. Eventually the topic got around to Obama and his bid to be our President. The old rancher said, 'Well, ya know, Obama is a 'post turtle'.' Not being familiar with the term, the doctor asked him what a 'post turtle' was. The old rancher said, 'When you're driving down a country road and you come across a fence post with a turtle balanced on top, that's a 'post turtle'.'The old rancher saw a puzzled look on the doctor's face, so he continued to explain. 'You know he didn't get up there by himself, he doesn't belong up there, he doesn't know what to do while he is up there, and you just wonder what kind of a dumb ass put him up there!.''
I wasn't going to post any pictures on this, because of all the wet and miserable weather we have been having. But I just thought of one I can post, but first, I have to go and take the picture. So, if you will excuse me for a couple of minutes, I will go take the picture and then come back and post it. BRB.
This is a plant that Jennie and I picked up last year, using a gift certificate that we received. I looked for the plant tag that came with it, but could not find it. Sorry, but I can't tell you what kind of plant it is. I thought it was in the pot with the plant, but nope, not there. Last year, when we got it, it had two tall stalks on it, covered with flowers. This year, it has, or will have, four tall stalks on it. I was hoping for more, but so far, I have only seen four. Anyway, once the flowers on this thing start blooming, it is supposed to attract Hummingbirds. And we did have a few of them stop by last year, so I am hoping that we will get quite a few of them again this year.
Anyway, I guess it is time to wrap this up till next time, so Good-bye till next time.
