Packy's Blog
I haven't been convinced that man is the cause of global warming. Volcanos under the ocean and cows add much
more carbon dioxide than man does. I'm not even sure we are having global warming. February was the coldest
February in 100 years. Anyway here's an article from Mars News.
Mars Melt Hints at Solar, Not Human, Cause for Warming, Scientist Says National Geographic News

Simultaneous warming on Earth and Mars suggests that our planet's recent climate changes have a
natural—and not a human- induced—cause, according to one scientist's controversial theory. Earth is
currently experiencing rapid warming, which the vast majority of climate scientists says is due to humans
pumping huge amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. In 2005 data from NASA's Mars Global
Surveyor and Odyssey missions revealed that the carbon dioxide "ice caps" near Mars's south pole had
been diminishing for three summers in a row. Habibullo Abdussamatov, head of the St. Petersburg's
Pulkovo Astronomical Observatory in Russia, says the Mars data is evidence that the current global
warming on Earth is being caused by changes in the sun. "The long-term increase in solar irradiance is
heating both Earth and Mars," he said.
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Have you read the email going around that says a ducks quack doesn't echo? Don't believe everything
you read, Popular Science Magazine (Feb 2007 page76) says a duck's quack does echo.
Carl Welser: Thank you, shepherd truckers
Truck drivers deserve more credit than they generally get. Especially those shepherd truck drivers who prove adept at
controlling the flow of traffic through lane closures.
Motorists who speed to the head of the line around lane closures, forcing their way into line at the last moment
between tightly packed bumpers, are worse than silly sheep. They are a hazard unto themselves and everyone
around them. They need a shepherd to take charge of their lives.
The shepherd truckers who herd the silly sheep into line deserve some kind of award. But more about them in a
moment.
Motorists commuting to and from Ann Arbor have experienced intense frustration in the past 10 days. A promised
series of lane closures has begun. U.S. 23, already a difficult route during rush hours, can only become more
challenging between now and next fall.
The Kohlrabi Grower's did agree at the meeting to develop an award to be given to shepherd truck drivers, those
guardians of the bottled-up freeway.
Every motorist has been forced at one time or another to assist in merging two lanes of traffic into a single lane
because of a lane closure up ahead. This presents a moral challenge: whether to stay in line, or whether to forge
ahead.
Few things in life are more maddening than watching a few bull-headed line-crashers race to the head of the line in a
faster lane, and then try to squeeze into single-file at the last moment. The actions of these selfish oafs are not only
discourteous; they also tend to provoke road rage. People have been shot at for lesser offenses on the highway
Alert truck drivers sometimes team up to control the flow of traffic approaching accident scenes and other occasions
for lane closures. You may have witnessed a pair of semi-trucks driving side by side, forcing the cars behind them to
merge into a single lane well before a lane closure. Their teamwork provides an important community service.
A pair of truck drivers - perched high up in their cabs - can better see problems ahead. When they agree to drive side
by side in tandem to keep the arrogant motorist from rushing to the head of the line, their actions have a calming
effect on all the reasonable motorists who are willing to play fair under duress.
For these special truckers whose actions help keep the sheep in line, there is no more deserving title than that of
shepherd truckers.
Applaud them wherever and whenever you see them at work.
Carl Welser is a minister, a former firefighter with the Hamburg Fire Department and a regular columnist in the Daily
Press & Argus. You can send e-mail to him at cwelser@sbcglobal.net.

The following article was cut from one of my news feeds so it wouldn't be missed. Idiots like this are probably the
cause of my heart attack.
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3/20/2007 I'm finding out moving my site from MSN to here is going to be a long slow process. There is just so much
to do. And in the meantime I'm driving and updating news to the site. Just be patient, it'll get much better. I'm thinking
of doing some things with trucking companies and manufacturers also. We'll see how it pans out.
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On the theme of if 3 is good more (5) is better. -- Recently I dumbly threw away my Mach 3 (3 bladed razor) and
purchased the new Gillette 5 blade razor and 8 expensive blades. What a mistake! The blades are closer together. So
close shaving cream can't fit between the blades. As a result the shaver glides above the skin on a layer of shaving
cream. I found I was pressing harder and nicking myself more and rinsing after every stroke or two. I complained to
Gillette and they sent me an 8 pack of Mach 3 blades. After purchasing a new Mach 3 shaver I'm happy again. It
works so much better. -- Yes, this wasn't about trucking but we all shave. Even the Gals might find this useful.
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Iran is releasing the British hostages. This saves trucking and the world from a big hit. If we were to go to war against
Iran the lack of 20% to 25% of the world's oil would surely cause another depression. At the very least trucking would
surely slow. Would you be able to make your truck payment running 25% less?
When it can be done safely, moving over for stopped police cars, is a good idea. In heavy traffic though it can cause
problems.

On Friday of 3/16/07 while westbound on I-24 at about mile marker 28 in Tennessee a J.B. Hunt moved quickly, without
signaling, from the right to left lane. As he did this he ran a car with four young girls into the end of a guard rail. They
hit this guard rail head on. Numerous other vehicles took the right and left shoulders to avoid the stoppage that
occurred. As I looked down into the girl's car I noticed the airbags had deployed and it appeared no serious injuries
where sustained. Seeing that two or three cars were checking on the girls I continued on to catch JB who wasn't
stopping. I and other truckers were honking and yelling at JB on the radio but he ignored us. As I rounded a bend I saw
another police car and two wrecked vehicles on the right shoulder. A car stopped to tell the officers of the wreck that
had just happened. In a couple of miles I passed JB and took down his tractor and trailer number which I called into
state police. About 15 miles later a state trooper was waiting by the side of the road.

Yes, I turned in a fellow truck driver. It was the right thing to do. We don't need drivers like that giving all of us a bad
name. He could have gotten those girls killed.
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