STRAYCAT’S DOGGONE BLOG

Life Day 22392: Vegas Victim

Where do I begin? I guess at the beginning.

I just happened to be passing through Las Vegas today. I stopped for lunch at the WWW. Just as I was about to leave, the manager at my storage facility called me and said that the hasp on my space had been tampered with. I rushed over there to see what was up. Sure enough, I had been burgled. I called the police and they said they would send a officer out as soon as possible. While I was waiting, I took an inventory (as best I could) to see what was missing. The place had been ransacked. The major things that I noticed right away were: Most of my tools, the Video Poker Machine that I won on New Years Eve, one of my older laptop computers, my mother’s and Aunt Marceline’s China and Silver sets, a couple of old pool cues, all of my CD’s (about 400 give or take a few), my strong box containing my birth certificate, and some of my nicer clothes (both winter and summer). I’m sure I’ll find more when I get a chance to go in and straighten everything out. Like I said, I was just passing through. The officer arrived about a hour after I called and made a report. There was nothing to fingerprint, so there is very little for them to go on. The only hope of finding the culprits is the serial number on the Video Machine, since it is controlled by the Nevada State Gaming Commission. If it shows up at a Pawn Shop there is a chance that they can trace it back to the person who pawned it.

I feel angry and violated. There was one other unit burgled as well (no where near mine). The perpetrator(s) must have had access through the gate because it would take a truck and a couple of people to move that heavy and awkward Video Machine. I think it is time to find a more secure facility, like one with surveillance cameras.

Life Day 22381: Quarterly Fuel Report

I got my Quarterly Fuel Summary for July through September. This is the first one that I’ve received via QualCom. The results were as follows:
My average net fuel cost was $1.43 per gallon. My total fuel purchases were $23,901.76. My total rebates (fuel surcharges) were $15,701.00. Net fuel expenditures were $8,200.76. I averaged 7.19 mpg. My DCI (driver controlled idle time) was 53%. DCI is the time I spend idling when the truck is not in gear. That 53% is high (last week it was 8%), but this summary included July and August, the two hottest months, and I have the MMM to keep cool. I hope they send these reports every quarter henceforth. It is a handy tool.

Life Day 22379: Sedentary in Salt Lake City, UT

While I am able to get a connection, let me update this BLOG. Not much to relate, but I’m feeling productive today.

Yesterday, Saturday the 18th, I had a Black Bear breakfast of bacon, eggs, hash browns, a grilled biscuit w/ honey, and hot tea. Then, I drove here to Salt Lake City. I stopped in Winnemucca and Wells, NV along the way. When I checked in at the consignee, I discovered that I was ahead of schedule. They said that I couldn’t drop the load until Monday, so I took it to our terminal and T-called it there. I set my PTA for this morning at 0800 because I used all of my available hours yesterday getting here.

Today is going slowly. Little or no freight. I requested ‘home time’, so I may be here until tomorrow. So far today, I have replaced all of the lights on my truck (marker and tail) with LED lamps, and figured out how to change the read-out on the thermometer in my driver’s mirror from Celsius back to Fahrenheit. While driving in the rain in New York a couple of weeks ago, I hit a bump, and the read-out changed to Celsius. I’ve been ‘doing the math’ ever since. A real pain. I asked a few of the mechanics in the shop how to change it back, but none of them knew anything about it. As a last resort, I consulted my Owners Manual. The process was quite convoluted. It involved blocking the light source for 5 seconds, then exposing the light source again for 5 more seconds. This process had to be repeated 5 times within 1 minute to make the desired change (3 times to let the computer know that you want to make a change, then 1 to turn the display off, then 1 more to change to Fahrenheit). See what I mean by convoluted. It took me two tries to get it right. The only other option was to disassemble the mirror to access the reset button.

Later, I may remove the insect collection from my windshield. This I’ll probably accomplish by washing the truck, if I can get motivated. May as well kill 2 birds with 1 stone. The automatic truck wash here at the terminal is out of service today, so I’ll have to go elswhere if I decide to wash it.

In case you’re curious, here is the formua for converting temperature from degrees Celsius to degrees Fahrenheit:
Multiply by 9,
divide by 5,
and add 32.
To convert from Fahrenheit to Celsius:
Subtract 32,
multiply by 5,
and divide by 9.
Zero degrees Celsius is 32 degrees Fahrenheit, the freezing point of water at Sea Level.
100 degrees Celsius is 212 degrees Fahrenheit, the boiling point of water at Sea Level.

Life Day 22377: Salutations from Sparks, NV

I delivered the load from Ft. Worth this morning. I arrived at the consignee last night about 2030 and just ‘camped out’. How I got here from Ft. Worth is pretty mundane. I left there about 0900 on the 14th, and drove to our terminal in Lancaster, TX for fuel. I then drove to El Paso with a couple of stops along the way for food and exercise. I can’t remember where. On the 15th, I drove all the way to Chiraco Summit, CA. I made stops in Lordsburg, NM and Tonapah, AZ. On the 16th, as I mentioned earlier, I drove to the consignee in McClellan. I stopped at our terminal in Mira Loma, CA for fuel. I didn’t want to risk trying to fuel in Fontana after the last fiasco there. After I fueled, I drove to Wheeler Ridge for dinner. I had a mediocre buffet. Somewhere along the way, I received and accepted a PrePlan which picks up in Sacramento and delivers in Salt Lake City, UT.

I only had 4 hours total available for today, which is why I stopped here in Sparks for the day. I picked up the load about 1030. It was a ‘live load’. It weighs 44,000 lbs, but it scaled out perfectly, so drove directly here. I’m located at Sierra Sid’s truck stop/Casino. It is conveniently located directly across the street from a Black Bear Diner, so you know where I went for dinner. Oddly enough, I ordered Chicken Fried Steak. For my ’sides’ I had Scalloped Potatoes and Green Bean Casserole. I liked the casserole. They used ginger in their scalloped potato recipe, and I didn’t care for it much. Next time, I’ll try the Macaroni & Cheese. The steak was delicious as always. I also had a Dinner Salad with Blue Cheese dressing.  No desert this time. The K9 kids enjoyed their “share” immensely.

Tomorrow, I will only have 8.75 hours total, so I don’t know if I’ll be able to make it to SLC or not. Either way, I won’t be able to leave until Sunday. I’m trying to get to Vegas for the follow-up visit for the MMM at the Vet.

Pooch Problems

I had to take both of the guys to the Vet yesterday. Wolfie is having problems with his ears again. He has scratched both ears (the floppy part on the inside) raw.

Walter somehow managed to tear off his right hind paw toenail. I don’t know when he did it. He wasn’t limping nor did his behavior change in any way except that I noticed he was licking that paw excessively a couple of days ago (he’s a tough little guy).

Both will be alright. Wolfie, of course, had to be sedated before the Vet could do an accurate diagnosis. He’s just too hyper. The diagnosis was that his ear was infected again. We can’t figure out why. He and Walter are exposed to the same environment and Walter doesn’t have a problem with his ears. Anyway, Wolfie was prescribed a topical ointment, and some antibiotic pills.
Walter was more cooperative according to the Vet. His paw was shaved, his wound treated, and bandaged, with no problem. His bandage looked like a little “doggie tennis shoe” (for a while). By the end of the day, he had loosened it up to the point that it more resembled a “clown shoe”, flopping with every step as he walked. By his second walk today, it was completely gone. He was scheduled to have the bandage removed tomorrow anyway, so I just keep the wound clean, and lubricated with some of Wolfie’s ointment. It will be alright. He was prescribed some different antibiotic pills and some pills for pain.

The total bill was around $420.00. (OUCH!!) Counting their shots, and Wolfie’s inflamed joint, last month, I’ve spent about $800.00 on them in a month. Good thing I love them.   :+}  Both are scheduled for a follow-up visit at ther end of next week.