Thursday, August 29, 2013

Week 1 2013 College Football Predictions

The college football season is underway. There are a lot of other things one hell of a lot more important going on right now but..........why worry about that right about now. On to the predictions for the first week of the  2013 season.


1. NC vs SC: South Carolina may (or may not) be right there in the hunt for the SEC crown and a big time bowl. They are having no problem with North Carolina in the 1st quarter and will win by three touchdowns. Go with the Gamecocks here.

2. Utah State vs Utah: The Aggies were a solid bunch last season and of course the coach went on to "greener pastures." It will be interesting to see if Utah State can continue to have success in their new conference. The Utes on the other hand have been a disappointment since moving to the "big time" of the PAC 12. I will go with the Aggies here in perhaps a close one.

3. Western Carolina vs Middle TN State: Go with the Blue Raiders of MTSU.

4. USC vs Hawaii: This will likely be Lane's last year as coach of the mighty Trojans. His squad will fall shy of the top 25 again but their spiral won't begin this week. Go with USC.

5. Sacramento State vs San Jose State: The Spartans had a surprisingly good season last year and of course the HC moved on. SCSU is a pretty good IAA (err FCS) club. It might be close but I will go with the Spartans.

6. TTU vs SMU: The Mustangs may be on the right track with Jones' rebuild (supposedly) of the program. TTU is in disarray after the disaster that was Tuberville. Both of the squads are a bit of a mystery and the game may be a toss up. I would go with SMU in a minor upset.

7. Southern vs Houston: Houston has certainly fallen off since Case moved to the NFL and Sumlin moved on to Aggie land. Still this should be a no brainer. Go with the Coogs.

8. North Dakota State vs Kansas State: This will be a good one. ND State (FCS)would certainly be able to compete with the lower tier of the top 25 and KSU is probably (again) under rated. I would go with the Wildcats in a good close game.

9. TAMU vs Rice: Rice came on strong the second half of last season and finished with a winning record (thus saving Bailiff and co.). That annoying "Johnny Football" is supposedly suspended for at least part of the opener with the Owls. I would still go with the Aggies here but wouldn't it be fun if......?

10. Louisiana vs Arkansas: We will see how the Hogs fare after the disaster of the last couple of years. How one can come back from Petrino is beyond me. John L. Smith had some problems of his own and was not the man to right the ship. We will see........The Cajuns are a good team and they may well "upset" the Razorbacks. I will go out on a limb and pick the team from Louisiana here.


Don't know about you but I for one am glad for the distraction that is college football...

Sunday, August 18, 2013

Things Not To Do In Corporate America

Somehow or other I find my way back in corporate America. A trucking company true, but some of the nonsense that comes down the pike from the corporate types makes me wonder if we are in the trucking business at all.....The new one is some sort of truck rodeo that we have to plan (on a Saturday no less) for the drivers to participate in. Of course a couple of drivers (the nine to five types) are all for it, but the real drivers are cynical and those that are even home, are likely not to give up their time to come in for such nonsense. Still we must plan and put on this circus......

It is interesting yet predictable that the corporate honks misunderstand driver psychology to the extent that they do. Most drivers are not all that impressed with "free" hats and t shirts and could care less about the occasional "safety" banquets that they are "required" to attend. They find it silly and a waste of valuable home time. What a driver wants is a load that pays decently, equipment that does not leave them stranded, and reasonable home time. Period. Most are not interested in nonsense..........

Enough of all that driver talk. That can come later. Right now however I feel it my sacred duty to give some advice on the things you should just refrain from while working in a corporate environment. Read on.......

1. One should always refrain from greeting coworkers with a "how you doing" in some way out "urban" dialect. If done correctly it comes out as a "how you durin" and, well, some folks would just take that the wrong way. Keep this one in mind....

2. Never ever tell a person of color that they remind you of someone else. Ever. That will bring forth a "we all look alike to you don't we" thing and you just don't want to travel down that road. Do you? I'm pretty sure you don't.

3. If you have access to "random drug test" information, then it would be prudent to wait until the list for the current month is out before partaking in the bounty of the earth. Once you have it and you are in the clear, smoke a little then cleanse and wait until the next month. Works for some folk.  So I hear.

4. Never sing the Sophie B Hawkins' tune I wish I Was Your Lover while dancing wildy in front of an attractive co worker. Might give the wrong impression.

5. Don't play country music at your desk. Believe it or not you could be considered a racist of sorts. I shit you not.(I'm in the clear here as I detest most country music). It is ok however to play gangsta rap as long as the "fucks"  and "niggas" don't get too loud and disturb your fellow sheep. (Although if someone does complain you can always say you are a victim of "discrimination." It might work for you and could extend your career by years before the corporate "legal team" decides it is ok to can your silly ass.

6.. You probably need to scrape the Confederate flag sticker off the bumper of your vehicle before parking in the corporate lot. Might save you some heartache. It is ok however to have "La Raza" or some sort of Black "separatist" memorabilia plastered on your vehicle. Taking a stand as it were......

7.. Don't announce to your coworkers that you are going home to "get your knob polished" or any type thing similar.

8. Probably be best not to point out the obvious on the state of Islam either.

9. If you think that Sharpton, Jackson and Co. are a bunch of race baiting opportunists, it would be in your best interest to keep that to yourself.

10. Don't use the word "fag" in any context. Ever.

Just following these few simple steps might keep you off the radar of the HR dept and save you untold grief.



You're welcome.

How 'bout some corporate babe Rule 5? Again, you're welcome.




Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Husky Boys In The Big Rig

A lot of truck drivers are overweight. Period. It can, it seems, go with the territory. Long hours sitting, bad (and overpriced) truck stop food........just a general unhealthy lifestyle.

There is an ongoing saga in my company where a man of certain girth has to get his weight under a certain (morbidly obese) level. A couple of months back the man had to be carted off in an ambulance in west Texas and his load "rescued." Needless to say this took a bit of work but as with most things trucking, it worked out. (The customer wasn't particularly happy that their load was to be late but I really didn't give a rat's ass). As it turned out the man had some sort of stomach episode which took him down. OK. These things can happen to anyone right? Read on........

This is not the first time this sort of thing has happened with this particular driver. He has been hauled off in an ambulance from the yard, has had numerous other health related episodes. and has been involved in more than one spectacular crash. I actually worked for the same company years back and vividly recall a non coherent phone call I received from him right after he ran over a stalled vehicle on the freeway outside of Atlanta. It was hard to believe that he was not canned - that would have been a no brainer in other trucking firms I worked for.

Now this gets interesting. The company required that he take a DOT physical after his latest episode involving emergency services. He passed. The powers that be then determined that he get under a certain weight before being allowed back in the truck. It appears they are betting that he is not going to hit the target weight and will just eventually go away. They (human resources, legal, corporate dweebs) have been very careful to make clear that he has not been "terminated" but is required to lose weight to get back in the truck.

As noted, it is readily apparent to any observer that the company is betting that he won't pass. Pretty obvious assessment of the situation if you ask me and, on a personal note, I am not particularly interested in seeing this driver back on the road with yours and mine. He is a menace in my humble opinion.

That being said, a part of me is rooting for this guy to do something. Simply losing the weight would seem his best option - that would place the ball in the company's court so to speak. It would be my guess that the powers that be will try to find something else to keep him out of the truck. And they will.

I guess it would be best to conclude that the corporate types are on the fence. Since they have made it clear the driver is not "fired" and at the same time keeping him out of the truck it seems that they believe they are in the "right" here but still a bit afraid of a discrimination lawsuit.

It will be interesting to see how this turns out.