Here’s the same link ran through Google Translator:

http://translate.google.com/translate?js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.story.nl%2Fartikelen%2Fnieuwsgossip%2F5086&sl=nl&tl=en&history_state0=

Also, to prevent future clutter, change your web browser’s default “Download” setting to a folder other than the Desktop.

This is a simple thing to do and it really does work!

I’ve been using the Alltel air card for the past few days. I was on the computer a lot yesterday, including watching several videos on the YouTube website.

Starting this morning, I tried watching YouTube videos from the YouTube site, and no matter what I tried I kept getting the following YouTube error message across the top of the page where the video is normally located:

“Hello, you either have JavaScript turned off or an old version of Adobe’s Flash Player. Get the latest Flash player.”

I got the error message in FireFox on OS/X. I got the error message in Safari on OS/X.

With the Alltel air card still connected, I swichted to my Windows Vista VMware virtual machine. I got the error message in FireFox, Internet Explorer and Safari in the Windows Vista virtual machine.

Next, leaving the browser window open to the page with the error message, I disconnected the Alltel modem and plugged in the Sprint modem. I clicked the “refresh” button on FireFox and the video that wouldn’t load before, instantly loaded and started playing.

When the Alltel air card was plugged in, I could play embedded YouTube videos, but NO YouTube videos from the YouTube site. I also was unable to get Hulu.Com videos to play either with the Alltel modem connected.

What gives, Alltel?

The health Nazi’s are at it again. They saw how easy it was to demonize tobacco and trans-fats. Now they are going after sugar “for the children.”

http://www.slate.com/id/2215897/?from=rss

Here’s an extremely interview of Dmitry Orlov on Australian radio:

http://mpegmedia.abc.net.au/rn/podcast/2009/03/lnl_20090310_2240.mp3

The Fat of the Land by John Williams Streeter

Here’s the link to the downloadable PDF version

The Fat of the Land by John Williams Streeter, PDF version

It’s clear to me that something has been lost in our modern world. We tend to think of ourselves as fortunate to be living in a time of high-technology, but our ancestors possessed access to something far more valuable — moral values and a high degree of common sense.

The browser is called Skyfire and is available at http://get.skyfire.com/.

Go ahead, make fun of Windows Mobile. You can’t watch Hulu.Com or YouTube videos on your iPhone…

The problem with mankind is spelled out in the Book of Genesis in the Bible. Man wants to play God in his own mind. The only way human beings can play God is through judgment, more specifically something I like to call resentment. The best description I can come up with for the resentment I’m talking about is hurling mental thunderbolts in one’s imagination, as if one could strike another dead with his or her thoughts. It’s a “puffing up” of the wrong side of the human ego. It feels so sweet, it feels so right, yet resentment is a dealy sin if it’s not properly faced. Not properly facing sin is denial, an even worse sin.

“All who sin are slaves.” When a human being resents a person, place or thing, he or she is immediately disconnected from the source of their real identity, and face immediate guilt, because resentment is an inferior response. When we resent, and refuse to honestly face our conscience, we are thus faced with two wrong choices — go along to get along with whatever we got upset with, or try to rebel and do the opposite. Either way, as long as we are in denial we are cut off from the source of our original identity and must absorb the identity of that which we resented. Thus, over time, layer on layer of resentment and denial adds up, and we end up with a group-think, externalized identity. Conscience, which could save us if we would face it fairly and squarely, we view as the enemy. We come to see the world backwards — wrong looks right and right looks wrong. Real freedom seems like slavery and real slavery looks like freedom, which is really license.

Every human being that walks the face of the Earth has a proclivity to play God in his or her own minds. Resentment is the nectar of an illegitimate god. Over time it’s possible to morph into a monster.

What has gone wrong with American society over the past 50 years? The answer is right in front of our noses. Most of these George Bush-hating Obama bots are products of a broken home. There either was no Dad present, or a milk-toast male sperm donor that married Mama and became nothing more than a weak-minded sibling. While it’s possible for a single woman to raise good, clear-minded children, it’s not very likely. Children that hail from broken homes universally hate the Dad that wasn’t present for them, and by extension hate everything about American society.

Resentment not only separates people from their original unique God-given identity, but it also separates people from their common sense. In fact, common sense is a threat. Common sense is painful. When someone like this sees common sense in action it pains them. The only pleasure someone like this can get is tearing things down and making everyone else around them as miserable as they are.

An agitator like Obama can come along and agitate the existing resentment in people like this and easily get them to do his bidding. Adolph Hitler did exactly the same thing with a large resentful segment of the German population. America is morphing in to Hitler Germany.

The 2010 elections are the last hope for America. However, even if we manage to turn the tide we still face a serious problem — we have a large, ever-growing percentage of citizens that are products of broken homes. They WILL vote your rights and freedoms away, because they don’t know what freedom is. They have always been slaves, and are threatened by liberty.

2000 Heirloom Seeds — $64.95

Survival Gardening

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1161274/Scientists-develop-mobile-phone-battery-charged-just-10-seconds.html

Once that capability exists, what is to stop a government official to check the contents of your brain to see if there are any illegal images stored in your brain? After all, it’s just a storage mechanism, just like any other read/write memory source.

Check out the following article on the progress being made in this area of brain research:

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/6652c3cc-0f27-11de-ba10-0000779fd2ac.html

If a recession turns into a depression, wouldn’t the trucking business be the first to encounter it?

I think we may have just crossed into economic depression territory.

The things that scare me about what’s going on is that (1) Obama keeps “talking down” the economy in order to get his way. He’s got so much attention focused on him it scares the hell out of a lot of people when the president says things are bad and they are getting worse. (2) People owe massive amounts of personal debt with many of them living on the edge of insolvency. I think the “normal” economy has been running on a lot of credit for some time, sub-prime fake money that didn’t really exist. Credit cards, sub-prime car and home loans didn’t exist in the Great Depression. (3) People are getting laid off in massive numbers, giving people the tiny push they need to make them go over the economic cliff.

Food shipments usually don’t drop much in a recession. I think people aren’t buying as much because they just don’t have the money.

http://www.carepages.com/carepages/GailKantz

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has launched a new PAC website, located at http://www.sarahpac.com. I have signed up to receive emails and will likely donate money at some point in the future.

We will desperately need this woman to clean up the messes left by Barack Obama’s bumbling term in office, which is headed for disaster.

*Carl Spencer Weisbrod
*/Aug. 29, 2008
/Carl Spencer Weisbrod, 69, of Honolulu, a psychologist, hyprotherapist
and enterpreneur, died in Honolulu. He was born in Pomona, Calif. He is
survived by son Ron Peters, brother Bud and sister Mary Aiana. Private
services.

http://archives.starbulletin.com/2008/09/21/news/obits.html

Here’s a tribute show on TalkShoe.Com that was done for him by his TalkShoe friends that knew about his death:

http://recordings.talkshoe.com/TC-17538/TS-154819.mp3

Who does this remind you of?

Related Article: Barack Obama to take a turn on ‘Check, Please!

]]> http://truckertomwp.mevio.com/?feed=rss2&p=554 0 http://truckertomwp.mevio.com/?p=553 http://truckertomwp.mevio.com/?p=553#comments Mon, 17 Nov 2008 00:32:23 +0000 Trucker Tom http://truckertomwp.mevio.com/?p=553 Here’s a demonstration of irrational behavior driven by not facing resentment:

First of all, there’s now a single aggregated site where ALL of the discount advertising offers that I offer with Mevio can be accessed in ONE place. The site is:

http://meviooffers.com/show/truckertom.html

But wait, there’s more !!! Not only can you access my site from there, but you can also play the latest episode of my podcast directly from that page, which makes it quite convenient for direct immediate access to my latest daily episode.

I’m not done yet. I’ve also decided to make it even more convenient. I just purchased a new domain name and forwarded it to the site, making it easier than ever. Just go to:

http://www.truckertomoffers.com

to get immediate access to my latest podcast episode, and also to all of my discount offers.

http://www.physorg.com/news122819670.html

Futureworld

Me waiting for food at the Sapp Brothers Truck Stop restaurant at Council Bluffs, Iowa.

When Sarah Palin first came onto the scene about 5 weeks ago, my Mom was watching lots of CNN and true to mind-numbed liberal form, she was hating Palin for no reason in general. My Dad tends to be a Democrat simply because his parents were Democrats.

Then came the Vice Presidential debate a couple of evenings ago. My Dad made a special point of watching the debate. He was silent during the entire debate, and then went to bed afterwards without saying much.

Something strange happened with my Mom. Sarah Palin won her over. My parents are going to skip voting this year, but nonetheless it was interesting to watch my Mom go from mindlessly hating Sarah Palin to actually liking her.

I wonder how many mind-numbed, angry liberals have been won over by Palin’s ability to connect with people? It’s quite a fascinating phenomenon.

On or about October 5th, Biden will excuse himself from the ticket, citing health problems, and he will be replaced by Hillary. This is timed to occur after the VP debate on 10/2.

I found out earlier today that PetMeds.Com has a sale going on FrontLine, a product that eliminates the flea and tick problem for dogs. The great thing about it is that you can continue to use the special “TOM” discount code on checkout to get a 10% discount above and beyond the special sale price! Check it out!!!!

http://meviooffers.com/1800-pet-meds-coupons/truckertom.html

The Mobile Friendly version of the Trucker Tom Podcast feed.

This is the outside of Ken’s Honda Accord Coupe.

Here is a matter-of-fact discussion with former KGB officer, Yuri Bezmenov. In this short clip, he explains the principle aims and incredible success of a program to demoralize and crush the United States over the course of a few generations. Once begun, the process feeds on itself without any further outside help—without the involvement of “card-carrying communists” or Soviet agents.

For more on how the former Soviet Union (and others) use brainwashing on Americans: Click Here

Eating with parents and nephew at Logan’s Steakhouse.

Another truck stop bites the dust. Buckeye Lake Truck Stop Inc at I-70
Exit 129 Buckey Lake, Ohio is now closed. Their business decline coincides precisely with Ohio’s public building smoking ban.

PixelBiker.Com is a social advertising site I’ve set up in order to generate money to help fund an extended cross-country podcasting motorcycle trip. I plan on podcasting each day of the trip once it takes place.

Now that the site is set up, I will start actively promoting the site as much as possible.

The concept behind the extended cross-country motorcycle trip revolves around the fact that most people don’t have the time or opportunity to make a trip like this. By me making the trip, people following along via my podcast will be able to get a sense of what I’m experiencing each day during the trip. I want to make this as fun of an experience for people following along as I possibly can.

If you have any suggestions as to where I should go on the trip or what I should make a point of checking out in a specific area of the country, or suggestions about how I can improve the PixelBiker.Com site, email me directly at tomwiles@gmail.com.

I’d have gotten it from GoDaddy, however GoDaddy didn’t support some of the PHP features that I need for the new site I’m setting up. Stay tuned for further updates regarding the new site, I’ll be talking about it in my podcast.

Check out a prototype of the Google “Android” cell phone smart phone operating system:

Other Mevio Promotional Offers and Discount Codes = Click on this link for other Mevio promotional offers!

http://zeevee.com/home

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

It is sort of fun being looked on as a wise old man with a long gray beard, but I got tired of that guy with the gray beard looking back at me in the mirror…

Before using “Just For Men” beard and moustache die on my beard.

Photo I took when I was stopped for about an hour on the north bound side of I-476 in Pennsylvania just south of the long traffic tunnels. The electrical system seemed to have lost its ground. I contacted the company breakdown department and they said to go back to the Allentown, PA Freightliner dealer and get the truck checked out the next morning. I made the suggestion that if I could try to make it to a T/A Truck Stop repair shop on I-80, which is in fact what ended up happening.

The original early files are linked at:

http://truckerphoto.blogspot.com

Work backwards to the earliest posts, and then move forward through them. Follow the links in the post to find the next set of files. You should be able to find links to most of the first 100 episodes.

After that, I moved my feed to:

http://slapcast.com/users/tomwiles

And after that, I moved my feed to Podshow, where the feed still lives, available at:

http://www.truckertompodcast.com

Happy listening!!!

The live video archive site is:

http://www.comvu.com/live/?TruckerTom

Here’s a link to an interesting article laying out the temperature evidence that so-called “Global Warming” has now switched to “Global Cooling.”

“Man-made Global Warming” is now proved to be nothing but a Y2K-like hoax. Thank God I doubted it all along…

Here’s the link to the full article:

http://www.dailytech.com/Temperature+Monitors+Report+Worldwide+Global+Cooling/article10866.htm

——————————————-

Many years ago in Scotland , a new game was invented. It was ruled ‘Gentlemen Only…Ladies Forbidden’…and thus the word GOLF entered into the English lang uage.

——————————————-

The first couple to be shown in bed together on prime time TV were Fred and Wilma Flintstone.

——————————————-

Every day more money is printed for Monopoly than the U.S Treasury.

——————————————-
< /SPAN>
Men can read smaller print than women can; women can hear better.

——————————————-

Coca-Cola was originally green.

——————————————-

It is impossible to lick your elbow.

——————————————-

The State with the highest percentage of people who walk to work:
Alaska
——————————————-

The percentage of Africa that is wilderness: 28% (now get this…)

——————————————-

The percentage of North America that is wilderness: 38%
—- ——————————————————————–
The cost of raising a medium-size dog to the age of eleven: $ 16,400
————————————————————————
The average number of people airborne over the U.S. In any given hour:
61,000
————————————————————————
Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair.

————————————————————————
The first novel ever written on a typewriter: Tom Sawyer.

————————————————————————
The San Francisco Cable cars are the only mobile National Monuments.

———————————————————————– -&nb sp;
Each king in a deck of playing cards represents a great king from history:

Spades – King David
Hearts – Charlemagne
Clubs -Alexander, the Great
Diamonds – Julius Caesar
————————————————————————
111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321
————————————————————————
If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle. If the horse has one front leg in the air the person died as a result of wounds received in battle. If the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes.

————————————————————————
Only two people signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, John Hancock and Charles Thomson. Most of the rest signed on August 2, but the last signature wasn’t added until 5 years later.

————————————————————————&n bsp;
Q. Half of all Americans live within 50 miles of what?

A. Their birthplace
————————————————————————

Q. Most boat owners name their boats. What is the most popular boat name requested?

A. Obsession
————————————————————————
Q. If you were to spell out numbers, how far would you have to go until you would find the letter ‘A’?

A. One thousand
————————————————————————
Q. What do bulletproof vests, fire escapes, windshield wipers, and laser printers all have in common?

A. All were invented by women.

————————————————————————
Q. What is the only food that doesn’t spoil?

A. Honey
————————————————————————
Q. Which day are there more collect calls than any other day of the year?

A. Father’s Day
————————————————————

In Shakespeare’s time, mattresses were secured on bed frames by ropes.
When you pulled on the ropes the mattress tightened, making the bed firmer to sleep on. Hence the phrase……… ‘goodnight, sleep tight.’

————————————————————————
It was the accepted practice in Babylon 4,000 years ago that for a month after the wedding, the bride’s father would supply his son-in-law with all the mead he could drink. Mead is a honey beer and because their calendar was lunar based, this period was called the honey month, which we know today as the honeymoon.

——————– ——————– ——————————–
In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts… So in old England , when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them ‘Mind your pints and quarts, and settle down.’

It’s where we get the phrase ‘mind your P’s and Q’s’

< /FONT>————————————————————————
Many years ago in England , pub frequenters had a whistle baked into the rim, or handle, of their ceramic cups. When they needed a refill, they used the whistle to get some service. ‘Wet your whistle’ is the phrase inspired by this practice.

– ———————————————————————-
At least 75% of people who read this will try to lick their elbow!

————————————————————————
-

Don’t delete this just because it looks weird. Believe it or not, you can read it.

I cdnuolt blveiee that I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd what I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn’t mttaer in what oredr the ltteers in a word are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is that the first and last ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can still raed it wouthit a porbelm. This is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the word as a wlohe. A mzanig huh?

————————————————————————
YOU KNOW YOU ARE LIVING IN 200 8 when…

1. You accidentally enter your PIN on the microwave.

2. You haven’t played solitaire with real cards in years.

3. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of three.

< /SPAN>4. You e-mail the person who works at the desk next to you.

5. Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family is that they don’t have e-mail addresses.

6. You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone to see if anyone is home to help you carry in the groceries.

7. Every commercial on television has a web site at the bottom of the screen

8. Leaving the house without your cell phone, which you didn’t even have the first 20 or 30 (or 60) years of your life, is now a cause for panic and you turn around to go and get it.

10. You get up in the morning and go on line before getting your coffee.

11. You start tilting your head sideways to smile. : )

12. You’re reading this and nodding and laughing.

13. Even worse, you know exactly to whom you are going to forward this message.

14. You are too busy to notice there was no #9 on this list.

15. You actually scrolled back up to check that there wasn’t a #9 on this list.
~~~~~~~~~~~AND FINALLY~~~~~~~~~~~~
NOW U R LAUGHING at yourself.

Go on, forward this to y our fr iends. You know you want to!

The Clintons are using Saul Alinsky tactics to destroy and marginalize Barack Obama. They are using a tag-team approach to ridicule Obama’s race.

According to Alinsky, public ridicule is nearly impossible for someone to overcome. The Clintons are systematically forcing Obama into a racial corner and potentially destroying the Democrat party in the process as they appeal to existing racists in the Democrat party. In order to use this Alinsky tactic, one must be completely soul less, without Conscience. The Clintons are total sociopaths, completely free of Conscience. This allows them to destroy anyone that gets in their way, without any penalty of remorse.

http://www.nbc4i.com/midwest/cmh/news.apx.-content-articles-CMH-2008-01-11-0025.html

It should be called the “Socialist Youth Program.”

Part Two:

Do we realy want another Clinton?

http://www.uncoveringamerica.com/

Fortunately, I still have a hard drive that has Windows Vista Premium on it so it was a simple matter of swapping out drives and I was immediately back up and running. After all of the updates from Microsoft over the past several months I must say Windows Vista does seem to be working quite well now.

Once I retrieve the data off the corrupted XP drive I’ll likely wipe it once again and reinstall for the fourth time the Windows XP Media Center it came with. I’ll make sure I can do that when I have time and bandwidth to download the scores of updates from Microsoft.

Now that I think about it, most of my Windows installations over the years have ended with having to reinstall.

Hillary denies:

http://uncommonsense.podshow.com

The RSS feed is:

http://www.podshow.com/feeds/uncommonsense.xml

- The only president ever impeached on grounds of personal malfeasance
- Most number of convictions and guilty pleas by friends and associates*
- Most number of cabinet officials to come under criminal investigation
- Most number of witnesses to flee country or refuse to testify
- Most number of witnesses to die suddenly
- First president sued for sexual harassment.
- First president accused of rape.
- First first lady to come under criminal investigation
- Largest criminal plea agreement in an illegal campaign contribution case
- First president to establish a legal defense fund.
- First president to be held in contempt of court
- Greatest amount of illegal campaign contributions
- Greatest amount of illegal campaign contributions from abroad
- First president disbarred from the US Supreme Court and a state court

Find more at www.prorev.com/legacy.htm

Of course Al Gore is the self-proclaimed prophet, guru and high priest (or perhaps Pope?) of the Algonite religion. Al’s movie “An Inconvenient Truth” is the Algonite Holy Media Scripture.

All religions have to have sinners, demons, guilt, repentance, sacrifice, atonement, tithing and a Holy City. The Holy Church of Algonite has all of these aspects covered and more.

In Algonite theology, to “sin” is to produce carbon dioxide in some way.

Algonite “demons” are crude oil and gasoline. The Algonite Devil Incarnate is Nuclear Power.

Algonites are encouraged and conditioned to feel guilt every time they see someone take a breath and exhale carbon dioxide, or see someone driving around in a car or simply living their life productively in a developed First World economy.

Algonite repentance is easy — to repent an Algonite follower simply has to give lip service to Algonite theology.

Algonite sacrifice is also easy — Algonites simply advocate rules and laws that apply to “other” people but never to themselves, because Algonites themselves are too important to be bothered with such things.

Algonite atonement is wrapped up in following the latest Algonite trends — buy a Toyota Prius Hybrid to “make a statement” for example. A Toyota Prius Hybrid also functions as an obvious Algonite Holy Relic, making it possible for Algonite believers to recognize each other and feel good about themselves in the process. Why settle for a chrome fish when it can be the whole car instead?

Algonite tithing is done in the form of purchasing carbon offsets and also doubles as a trendy way for wealthy Algonites to purchase atonement.

The Algonite Holy City is Kyoto, Japan, known throughout the Algonite religion for it’s Holy Protocols.

Most religions have their share of phony, hypocritical preachers, and the Algonites are no exception. The Head Algonite Himself, Al Gore, is the biggest hypocrite of all. He is living a very expensive, lavish, energy-burning lifestyle, yet he wants to keep West Africans from even getting electricity.

From an article: “Gore’s mansion, located in the posh Belle Meade area of Nashville, consumes more electricity every month than the average American household uses in an entire year, according to the Nashville Electric Service (NES). The average household in America consumes 10,656 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year, according to the Department of Energy. In 2006, Gore devoured nearly 221,000 kWh-more than 20 times the national average. Last August alone, Gore burned through 22,619 kWh-guzzling more than twice the electricity in one month than an average American family uses in an entire year.

In total, Gore paid nearly $30,000 in combined electricity and natural gas bills for his Nashville estate in 2006. His average monthly electric bill is $1,350. His average monthly gas bill is $1,080. More than most working families pay for their mortgage which is a basic necessity – shelter. In addition his energy usage has actually increased since the release of his global warming film, from 16,200 kWh per month to 18,400 kWh per month.”

Despite this obvious hypocrisy, Algonites the world over are beaming over the fact that Pope Algore The First had his official Papal Inauguration by being given the Nobel Peace Prize.

The Parallels program uses lots of CPU horsepower with Windows just setting there open in a virtual machine. VMware Fusion is able to run Windows in a virtual machine that doesn’t require nearly as much CPU horsepower.

I can use a program like Adobe Audition inside of VMware Fusion and I get good performace out of it. If I run the same Adobe Audition inside of a Parallels virtual machine, I get poor performace to the point of unusability.

Overall, VMware Fusion is currently the best virtualization software out there for Mac OS/X.

http://m.podshow.com/media/131/episodes/81506/truckertom-81506-09-30-2007.mp4 87.8 Megabytes

http://m.podshow.com/media/131/episodes/81919/truckertom-81919-10-04-2007.mp4 16.6 Megabytes

Here’s the QuickTime interactive version:

http://www.panoramanetwork.com/movies/workshop.mov

I took this photo of Chris admiring his giant glass of beer…

I’ve posted a bunch more photos from today on my Flickr photo sharing account, located at http://www.truckertomphotos.com.

http://m.podshow.com/media/1165/episodes/79236/yazooma-79236-09-13-2007.mp4

http://m.podshow.com/media/150/episodes/77863/darkside-77863-09-02-2007.mp3

http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Zip71101/~5/149090574/zip71101-77142-08-27-2007.mp3

http://www.slide.com/r/3M2DsFK-2z-dCm7Q9AyoNv-j5L93hBI2?view=large

http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/fivelive/pods/pods_20070814-0450.mp3

Here’s the very first “Daily Source Code” with Adam Curry — wow does this bring back memories!!!!

http://m.podshow.com/media/146/episodes/75203/dscchats-75203-08-14-2007.mp3

Here are the links to the show’s blog and podcast sites:

Blog: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/podsandblogs
Podcast: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/podcasts/pods

http://playerjohn.podshow.com

You can get directly to the files at:

http://feeds.feedburner.com/playerjohn

The Minnesota I-35W bridge was built back in 1967, making the bridge 40 years old. When the bridge was inspected back in 1994, the inspectors documented a number of problems. One of the problems was one of the joints where steel beams rested on a pier — the pictures of it I saw on “Geraldo At Large” over the weekend on Fox News Channel were scary looking. Every subsequent inspection of the bridge spelled out all of the problems in painstaking detail, yet the bureaucrats somehow chose to ignore the inspection reports, dutifully filing them away and assuming that everything was okay.

The bridge was currently being resurfaced with new concrete. I read an article where the construction workers that were working the resurfacing project were saying that as they removed more and more of the old concrete, the bridge started to become more and more “wobbly.”

Every bridge vibrates vertically with an up and down motion as traffic goes across it — this is perfectly normal bridge behavior and MUST take place. However, side-to-side motion ISN’T normal and is a huge warning sign that something is terribly wrong.

Every highway and bridge construction project has a state inspector. If the inspector was present, he or she had to be noticing the wobble. I’m sure it would have been a big topic of conversation between the construction workers working on the bridge deck.

Here’s what I think happened — as more of the concrete was removed, the steel beams at the non-functioning joint no longer had the concrete to help hold them in the upright position. The beams at the non-functioning hinge joints were pushing against each other and that caused them to want to twist. As the concrete was removed, the beams were able to twist under the pressure. With the wobbling vibrating motion of the rush hour traffic on the bridge, things under the bridge likely really started to tear apart. Someone watching under the bridge at the beams resting on the piers would have witnessed the structure begin to fall apart, perhaps with chunks of concrete or metal beginning to fall to the ground. The traffic on top of the bridge deck was completely oblivious to the destruction going on underneath. The short of it is that the twisting motion of the affected steel beams got to a critical point of no return, and the beams flipped sideways, causing a catastrophic failure of the entire bridge’s structure.

Do you REALLY want government bureaucrats in charge of your health care? I dont…

http://www.podcastawards.com

My podcast “Trucker Tom” is located at the bottom of the page in the Travel category.

You can check out Scott’s page that explains the concept here:

http://home.comcast.net/~medianews/

http://m.podshow.com/media/131/episodes/71165/truckertom-71165-07-17-2007.mp3

Here is the video version of the same sound seeing tour.

http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/YazoomaVideos/~3/135206659/yazooma-71492-07-19-2007.mp4

Do the visuals match the images in your head that were created from listening to the audio only version?

There are so many podcast choices out there I can’t imagine having to go back to the choice of radio or listening to music.

I think it comes down to the fact that there are many, many more interesting people in the world to listen to via podcasts, and they are infinitely more interesting to listen to than are the “chosen” than end up on the radio.

http://feeds.feedburnercom/appletv

I am ONLY adding Apple TV HD 1280 x 720 video podcasts to this feed — anything that claims to be Apple TV HD but isn’t 1280 x 720 resolution won’t make the cut. So you can subscribe to the feed in iTunes or another podcast aggregator such as Juice and be assured that ONLY 1280 x 720 videos will come through on this feed.

I’ll be adding new Apple TV HD video podcasts as I find them, so if you are subscribed to this feed you will automatically receive them.

If you know of any Apple TV HD 1280 x 720 podcasts that you think I might be interested in adding to this feed, email me at tomwiles@gmail.com.

It started out innocently enough — I needed to scan some documents so I could fax them in today before Midnight so I get a paycheck next week.

Plug in the HP 1400 series scanner/printer. Turn it on. “New Hardware Found” pops up. UUUUGGGGHHHH !!!!!! But the hardware isn’t new!!!! I installed the HP driver for it a few months ago — come to think of it, more than once. What the hell is this ?????

Windows has the amazing ability to somehow “forget” USB devices that haven’t been plugged in and used in a while.

My next computer is NOT going to have Windows as its primary operating system !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://podcastawards.com/index.php?option=nominate

Remember, you can only nominate podcasts one time only. Read the rules carefully. People with more than one nomination session will result in all their nominations being thrown out, even if they are for different categories. So in other words, if you go to the above link be prepared to fill out every category before you press “Submit” unless you intentionally want to leave some categories blank.

http://feeds.feedburner.com/appletv

Here’s the iTunes link:

itpc://www.podshow.com/collection/58046.xml

As I add new HD video podcasts to the channel new HD content will automatically come your way.

http://feeds.feedburner.com/truckertomhd

The standard iPod versions of the same videos can be found at:

http://yazooma.podshow.com

Also be sure to check out Nick Lansley’s awesome London Landscape TV HD video podcast at:

http://londonlandscapetv.info/London%20Landscape%20TV/Welcome%20to%20London%20Landscape%20TV.html

http://www.scribd.com/doc/121908/OJ-Simpson-If-I-Did-It

I converted the text using text-to-speech to an MP3 file so I can listen to it on my iPod.

Here are direct links to them:

Dogs That Ride Around In Trucks…
http://m.podshow.com/media/1165/episodes/65939/yazooma-65939-06-17-2007.mp4 about 63 megabytes

and

Sony Cinema Mode Test Video…
http://m.podshow.com/media/1165/episodes/66143/yazooma-66143-06-19-2007.mp4 about 63 megabytes

It was addressed, “DAD.” With the worst premonitin, he opened the envelope, and read the letter with trembling hands:

Dear Dad,

It is with great regret and sorrow that I’m writing this. I had to elope with my new girlfriend because I wanted to avoid a scene with Mom and you.

I’ve been finding real passion with Tammy and she is so nice even with all her piercings, tattoos and her tight motorcycle clothes.

But it’s not only the passion, Dad — she’s pregnant and Tammy assures me that we will be very happy.

Even though you don’t care for her since she is so much older than I am, she already owns a trailer in the woods and has a stack of firewood enough for the whole winter. She wants to have many more children with me and that’s now one of my dreams too.

Tammy taught me that marijuana doesn’t really hurt anyone and we’ll be growing it for ourselves and trading it with her friends for all the cocaine and ecstasy we need.

In the meantime, we pray that science will find a cure for AIDS so that Tammy can get better; she sure deserves it!!

Don’t worry, Dad, I’m 15 years old now and I know how to take care of myself. Someday I’m sure we’ll be back to visit so you can get to know your grandchildren.

Love your son,

John

P.S. Dad, none of this is true. I’m over at Billy’s house. I just wanted to remind you that there are worse things in life than my report card, which is in my desk center drawer.

I love you!

P.S. Please let me know when it’s safe to come home!

http://m.podshow.com/media/131/episodes/63826/truckertom-63826-06-04-2007.m4v

I’m also setting up an HD-only video podcast feed at:

http://hdv.podshow.com

There are those who would argue that Micrsoft has not innovated with Microsoft “Surface.” I disagree, I think Microsoft has innovated beyond the idea of multitouch. The ability of it to recognize objects placed on it is an innovation, sort of like visual USB. Also, it makes practical use of things like WiFi in things like digital cameras to automatically download photos, move things back and forth between cell phones, things like moving music to a Zune, etc.

Surface is a real-world commercial product. Clearly this is the future of computing interfaces. Imagine having a laptop with a multitouch screen that can be flipped around backwards just like existing Tablet PC’s but instead you can use your hands directly on the LCD screen. I don’t think keyboards and mice will completely go away, but it’s obvious that being able to manipulate things directly with your hands is a much better interface for many applications. Imagine being able to lay your iPod on your computer screen and then manage the stuff on it directly by moving things around with your fingers rather than clicking on buttons, etc. Imagine “pouring” data from a program you are installing onto your computer screen. Computers have become powerful enough that we can begin to interact with virtual objects the same way we interact with real everyday physical objects.

This brings computing to a completely different level, and is what is needed to really spur the computer market to a brand new round of growth.

So America has essentially aborted its own culture. The chickens are now coming home to roost, and it’s time to pay the piper.

Unfortunately, there are too few real human beings, and too many sub-human smart cows. Even smart cattle need to be herded.

Hey Google, now that you’ve solved the SPAM email problem, how about coming out with a computer operating system?

http://m.podshow.com/media/131/episodes/59881/truckertom-59881-05-07-2007.m4v

http://m.podshow.com/media/1166/episodes/57810/videovoom-57810-04-18-2007.m4v

http://m2.slapcast.com/mp3/tomwiles/tomwiles-2007-04-11.mov

I believe the lack of ability of the video iPod to support video playback above 640 x 480 (”SD” or Standard Definition) is the reason why to date Apple doesn’t sell HD movies or video downloads on iTunes.

TOM

Well, there IS something new under the sun. Try the Pauchy Man Mudflap sillouette — that’s right. Here it is:

What will they think of next?

http://feeds.feedburner.com/adviceline

Simply copy and paste the above link into your podcast aggregator, such as Juice or iTunes.

Subscribe to Roy’s podcast in iTunes by clicking on the following link to the iTunes store:

http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=218710358

Vista certainly has it’s problems, but in a year or so when Microsoft actually gets Vista right and things come into line, the marketplace will be back where it started — Windows and a host of hardware manufacturers will continue to dominate the market, and the exclusive Apple machines and OS/X will continue to have a relatively small marketshare.

If Apple would release a version of OS/X that would run on any hardware the way Windows does, even if I had to pay a premium to get it I’d likely buy it.

If you take a look at digital SLR’s, cell phones, A/V receivers, etc. no one company dominates the market. Yet in the world of computer operating systems, Windows dominates. The reason it dominates is because you can choose parts from thousands of different vendors and build a machine out of it that Windows will run on. Windows does all of the basic functions. Even with the blunders Microsoft continues to make they have a guaranteed market because they have no real competitors. Apple isn’t a real competitor to Microsoft, because OS/X is tied to Apple hardware. Linux isn’t a real competitor either since it’s generally hard to use and filled with geeky naming conventions with software programmed by geeky, egotistical programmers who want to see themselves as being “above” the average computer user. It sort of boils down to a war between egotistically-driven geeks who want to see themsevles as “special” and everyone else. The “everyone else” is where the real market power lies.

It’s clear that the traditional music business is feeling very threatened by the Internet, and their plan to raise royalty rates to rediculous heights is obviously designed to destroy online broadcasting of copyrighted music. The article says that traditional broadcasters had “no comment,” which speaks volumes. It’s apparent that big music copyright holders are trying to shore up the long-term stranglehold of control that traditional broadcast of copyrighted music has on the distribution and performance of their music.

More than ever, the podsafe music movement is really the best direction for everyone concerned, including musicians.

Fax Zero also allows two free 3-page faxes per day.

Once the fax is sent, Fax Zero sends a confirmation via email. It’s really a great service.

http://m.podshow.com/media/2888/episodes/52049/rvidiots-52049-02-28-2007.mp3

One thing that struck me from the start is the overall smoothness of multitasking in Vista. Even when I push the processor and hard drive to the limits, Vista remains responsive. The Start button, along with other open program windows will pop right up when I click on them. In Windows XP, things would often come to a standstill on the same hardware rendering the computer virtually unusable.

I bought an extra 120 gigabyte laptop drive for backup purposes to use in my external USB housing, which powers the drive right from the USB port, no need for an external power source. I used the built-in backup function in Vista for the first time this evening. I must say, of all the backup programs I’ve used in the past, this one gave me the best performance ever. The computer remained completely responsive and usable while the backup was underway. I’m quite impressed.

If you are thinking about buying a new computer with Vista Premium preinstalled, go for it. Vista is is a great operating system.

Simply create a new Windows dial-up connection, using the Novatel/Sprint modem as the dial-up modem. For the phone number, put in #777, and then click finish. The username and password fields must remain blank. That’s all there is to it. Next, click on “Connect” and the modem will connect to the Internet via Sprint PCS.

If you have used the Connection Manager software, reboot your computer before attempting a direct dial-up connection or it likely won’t work because the port will appear to be in use.

http://videos.icnetwork.co.uk/icnorthwales/headLg_Prog001.wmv

The second link is of the final completed tattoo:

http://videos.icnetwork.co.uk/icnorthwales/tattoo.wmv

Here’s a link to some still photos of the tattoo in progress:

http://www.lep.co.uk/ViewArticle.aspx?ArticleID=2039734&SectionID=5395

http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-10877-6156413.html

By reading the article I found out that I can upgrade my machine at home by adding the appropriate PCI graphics card along with boosting the memory and adding a USB memory key to utilize the Windows Vista “Ready Boost” memory boosting feature that effectively adds additional memory beyond what the motherboard design is limited to.

One of the most powerful features is the integrated search function that operates throughout the operating system. It’s extremely quick and powerful.

The other feature that’s extremely useful is called “Ready Boost” and essentially lets you add more memory to your machine via a high-speed flash memory chip or USB memory key, up to 4 gigabytes extra. That’s really quite an innovative use of two technologies that have been around for a long time now — flash memory and USB 2.0.

At this point I’m even considering upgrading my six year old machine at home to Vista Basic. Both the search and Ready Boost are part of Vista Basic. Vista also starts much sooner and the computer is usable much quicker than it is in XP in the booting process. It was a long time in the making but Microsoft has hit another home run.

Before you return from your overseas trip I just want to let you know about the small accident I had with the pick up truck when I turned into the driveway. Fortunately not too bad and I really didn’t get hurt, so please don’t worry too much about me.

I was coming home from Wal-Mart, and when I turned into the driveway I accidentally pushed down on the accelerator instead of the brake. The garage door is slightly bent but the pick up fortunately came to a halt when it bumped into your car.

I am really sorry, but I know with your kind-hearted personality you will forgive me. You know how much I love you and care for you my sweetheart. I am enclosing a picture for you.

I cannot wait to hold you in my arms again.

Your loving wife.
XXX

P.S. Your girlfriend called.

I really like the Vista Aero Glass and “Flip 3-D” interfaces. Everything just seems to be more colorful and look better. Overall performace is also better. My verdict on Vista is that it’s worth upgrading to provided your computer hardware is up to it.

A certain company named after fruit is going ballistic. Check out this article for details:

http://www.theage.com.au/news/mobiles–handhelds/iphone-skins-irk-apple/2007/01/15/1168709656280.html

Imagine if your new TV came with a built-in Ethernet port and/or built-in WiFi, no separate “IPTV” or other external boxes or devices necessary for you to receive television and other programming directly off the Internet. No other antennas necessary — just a broadband Internet connection — that idea has got to be driving the folks that own traditional television and radio broadcast towers nuts… Stay tuned !!!

http://kstptv5.com/article/stories/S21143.html?cat=1

And the YouTube video:

“>

Podcasting works best if it’s looked at as just discovering and communicating with existing friends and potential friends. Some people try to start a podcast based around this or that topic because they think it will somehow “sell” better, but it really doesn’t work that way. It works best just being yourself. I can likely be friends with some people, but at the same time repel many others simply by saying what I think and being myself.

The majority of radio and TV “talent” is made up of performers rather than passionate people primarily because of the way the segmented time on radio is sliced and diced into tiny increments. Apart from Rush Limbaugh and perhaps a few others, people have a very hard time being passionate and genuine and still be good “performers.” The nature of podcasting bypasses all of it and will likely eventually completely shatter radio and TV as we know it today. Since podcasting is really just an extension of website technology, no one can ever get a podcast “monopoly” going. Even companies like Microsoft and Google with multiple billions of dollars behind them cannot create monopoly websites. The Internet just doesn’t work that way.

The ability of people to communicate directly with each other via idea structures and vehicles built on broadband Internet essentially wipes out million dollar printing presses, million dollar studios and million dollar transmitters.

Starting in 2006, existing advertising dollars started to pull away from traditional radio and TV ads and moving towards more effective Internet-based ads. About two years ago I got into a bit of an email debate with a radio ad guy who was downplaying podcasting as a threat to radio and TV early on. It makes me wonder what he is thinking now…

I just did a Google search for the term “radio advertising.” I clicked on one of the top sites that came up. I suggest you check it out. The tone of all the content to me sounds pretty bleak and desperate. Here’s the link:

http://www.audiographics.com/

Onion heads are scattered everywhere throughout every society. They mock, they rape, they pillage and they try to destroy. Onion heads may be in your family or your workplace. You might even have an onion head parent. In fact, onion heads nailed Christ to the cross.

Following Christ’s perfect example, the key to dealing with onion heads is to not hate them back. If you don’t hate an onion head back, you have given the onion head’s life a real purpose. If you don’t hate an onion head back, they cannot hurt you no matter what they do. Not hating an onion head back is the key to defeating them. Not hating an onion head back results in stewed onions!

I think that Apple is going to increase market share by perhaps a percentage point during the next year because of the Intel platform, however Apple still hasn’t quite figured out how to grab more mainstream market share. They did pull the “Mac Guy Vs. PC Guy” ads because they were getting a largely negative response from the majority of potential consumers — people were actually feeling sympathy for the PC Guy, and the Mac Guy was coming off as a typical Apple Snob. Of course, existing Apple computer customers loved the ads and could see nothing wrong with them, but they are not the typical computer consumer.

Apple recognizing there was a problem with the ads and pulling them is certainly a step forward, however it’s not yet enough. Apple will not start gaining serious market share unless and until they start selling Apple machines in mass market retail outlets, such as Wal-mart and big-box electronics stores.

The average consumer won’t pay several hundred dollars extra for hardware. Some consumers will pay more if that hardware is from a PC manufacturer such as Sony that comes across as a high-end, really cool machine that already has Windows pre-installed. Apple could compete with Sony, but it can’t compete with Dell, HP or Gateway because it doesn’t understand the Dell/HP/Gateway marketplace and what those customers want.

There’s a huge pent-up demand for something new on the consumer side. I think that Vista is going to give the sales of new PC’s a big shot in the arm.

Ultimately Apple must figure out how to dispel the “snob” image. The “snob” image works in the mass market for selling iPod’s but not for the mass PC market, which is very different even though it covers many of the same people. It’s interesting to think about.

Having the ability to install and run Windows isn’t enough to gain real PC market share. The majority of people want Windows pre-installed, something so far Apple is loathe to do.

http://m.podshow.com/media/1166/episodes/42206/videovoom-42206-12-16-2006.m4v

Find my other videos at http://videovoom.podshow.com and http://yazooma.podshow.com.

I have the perfect solution that leftists everywhere can get behind with enthusiasm. Relocate the U.N. to Havana, Cuba!

I play three video clips, one humourous and two deadly serious. Don’t try to beat the train!!!!!

http://m.podshow.com/media/1165/episodes/42125/yazooma-42125-12-15-2006.m4v

Zooming in even seems to reveal which side of the truck the Bluetooth GPS unit that’s paired with my phone is on — it’s sitting in the passenger seat here in my truck’s cab:

I’m parked in the rear truck parking area of a McDonalds just outside of East St. Louis, Illinois along I-64 at Highway 157.

http://m.podshow.com/media/2888/episodes/41233/rvidiots-41233-12-10-2006.mp3

http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/57882334/article.pl

http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/dec2006/tc20061207_485162.htm?campaign_id=rss_tech

http://www.whiotv.com/news/10469813/detail.html?taf=day

http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9666094-1.html?subj=Crave&part=rss&tag=feed&tag=cnetfd.blog

That’s really unfortunate. Had he just stayed put with his wife and kids at the car, he would have been fine. Or, had he simply stuck to walking along the road he would have also likely been found much sooner and likely still be alive.

I guess if anything this shows us the importance of staying with the vehicle in case we get stranded somewhere — some protection is better than just being out in the elements.

In this day and age of so much communication, it’s hard to imagine that a family could simply go missing. Nonetheless the reality is that it does happen.

It sounds like they might have taken some back roads in Oregon to get from I-5 over to the Oregon coast in very bad weather. The roads in that area look pretty poor. It’s sometimes hard for people to realize how dangerous and isolated an area can be in bad weather. I can imagine a snow-covered mountain road in Oregon — it wouldn’t be very pleasant, especially at night.

Here’s the route my mapping software suggests from the Denny’s restaurant they were last seen at in Roseburg, OR to Gold Beach, OR.

Here’s a close-up of the secondary road.

An even closer view reveals that part of the road is gravel, not even paved.

There are other routes they could have taken, but none of them look very much better. If they went off the road somewhere, hopefully if they weren’t injured they remained with their vehicle. Hopefully they will eventually be found and the mystery will be solved.

Most trucking companies have pretty much solved this problem with GPS/tracking via two-way Qualcomm units installed in every truck. Of course I rarely ever have to go far on a bad secondary route, but it’s nice to know that my vehicle is tracked 24/7 regardless of where I travel.

How many millions of cell phones are there in the world?

http://m.podshow.com/media/1166/episodes/39491/videovoom-39491-11-29-2006.m4v

“>

http://m.podshow.com/media/1166/episodes/32353/videovoom-32353-10-20-2006.m4v

Unfortunately I woke up with a headache, likely because I messed up my sleeping patterns a bit too much last night. I hate it when that happns! Hopefully I can sleep it off !

She’s baaaak…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVuPlf4XJig&mode=related&search

http://m.podshow.com/media/2888/episodes/35877/rvidiots-35877-11-08-2006.mp3

“Seniors” do seem to be under-represented in the online world, and I think I can explain why.

In the old days, people communicated socially through snail mail and telephones. These people are “wired” to communicate through phone
calls and snail mail. They are also “wired” consume mass media like TV, radio and newspapers in a passive way. Many of them deliberately don’t want to change (don’t have a computer and don’t want one), therefore they don’t participate online and cannot see the benefits of doing so, plain and simple. They are still living in the old snail mail telephone world, whereas a brand new unrecognizable world has sprung up around them they know little or nothing about. Often this is deliberate on their part. I’ve got plenty of elderly relatives that have had it suggested to them over and over they should get a computer, and they keep refusing. A few of them even refuse to get cell phones! They continue to socialize in the same limited ways people socialized back before computers, therefore they live limited lives and the benefits of technology and the new socially interactive media are lost on them.

“Don’t participate, get left behind” is how the world works.

My Mom’s is doing better and better with podcasting. Here’s the latest one:

http://m.podshow.com/media/2888/episodes/35094/rvidiots-35094-11-04-2006.mp3

I’ve got a cousin that’s a bit older than me that Patrick Melton reminds me of. My cousin is more of a blow-hard liar than a bully, but he does have bully tendencies and particularly exhibited them when he was younger.

If these people are handled correctly they can be completely flummoxed, but it has to be a calm, no-returned-rage response. In other words, I’m not hating Mr. Onion back — I am therefore able to see and articulate precisely what he’s doing as a sort of object of curiosity. He’s even telling the world he’s bitter and proud of it with the name “onion.” Of course onions are bitter, and there’s the key.

Looking in Google I found out that Patrick Melton does occasional stand-up comedy in central Florida. Many stand-up comedians are very unhappy people. I think sometimes they can sometimes seem funny in the same way that a train wreck could have humorous aspects to it. What they fail to realize is that people are laughing AT them rather than at their “humor.” “Madge” can occasionally say funny things, but apart from the repetitive cursing, which at first is a novelty, there’s really little humor. The core of people who still like this type of thing are drawn to and fascinated by people who are “good” at belittling, mocking, making fun of, denigrating and impugning others — this can keep them distracted from their own shortcomings. Someone like the onion guy or “Madge” has no happiness other than to denigrate, tear down and destroy. They often engage in compulsive behaviors such as (but not limited to) overeating, illegal drug use, etc. How many stand-up comics have there been that have died of drug overdoses? Plenty.

These sorts of “Conduct Disorder” behaviors can be “mapped” in the brain.

The question no one ever seems to want to seriously ask or seek the answer for is this — is there a psychological component to how the brain got “mis-wired” in the first place? Scientists seem to always want to look at the brain as if it develops in a complete vacuum. I believe there IS mis-wiring and there ARE chemical imbalances. However, how did they occur? Did they simply just “happen” mysteriously somehow?

Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

I believe that there’s an overlooked psychological/spiritual component that science doesn’t want to get anywhere near. I believe that the “spirit” leads the “flesh.” In other words, someone diving deeply into rage can end up mis-wiring their own brain and/or create real chemical imbalances. Psychological/spiritual shortcomings have physical consequences.

I just wish that scientists would be 100% honest and look at the total picture rather than trying to leave out the possibility that there is a God somewhere in the mix. I would even settle for them admitting to a concept that there are absolutes such as right and wrong. If there’s no God, then there’s no right and wrong. In that case, who’s to say that someone that is labeled with Conduct Disorder isn’t 100% normal with a properly-wired brain
and the rest of us that think we have normally-wired brains aren’t the aberrations? In that sort of view, people like “Madge” and our onion guy are simply “different” and no one can make any value judgments. To that view I say nonsense. The idea that there are no absolutes is a declaration of an absolute itself, therefore a contradictory statement that’s self-invalidating. Therefore, there ARE absolutes. “There are absolutes” is an honest observation as opposed to an egotistical declaration.

I believe that many more things could be mapped in the brain that would be useful to know, if scientists were willing to ask the right questions. For example, there are people who are able to go through life-changing spiritual/psychological experiences and essentially move from being a dysfunctional criminal/bully type to a decent, honest productive person. Is their brain somehow affected by this change? Is the brain re-wiring itself? If so, can’t that re-wiring be measured? Can’t the chemical balance change be measured in someone who is able to go through an experience that causes them to lose their depression without taking drugs? Sadly these seem to be questions that few people have the guts to seek the answer for.

Mr. Onion has given me a lot to think about and therefore talk about.

Tom,

Someone just sent me a clip from your “show”. You could not have possibly gotten more facts wrong about Nobody Likes Onions. What an ass you sound like, just spewing false information and talking about events that never happened. You’ve never even fucking listened to the show (by your own admission) yet you critique it and bash our listeners and go as far to throw blame on our parents for THINGS YOU’VE NEVER EVEN HEARD.

What a big fucking douche you sound like. I can’t wait to play your stuttering, stammering hypocritical lying horseshit on my show and rip it the fuck apart. If you don’t like the show or what we do, that’s fine, but you’re just making shit up. No one from my show said ANYTHING close to offensive to Father what’s-his-name. No one on my show ever solicited ID’s, much less sold ID’s – listen to my show, you ass – we don’t even play ID’s. We didn’t win a podcast award. We don’t just bash other shows on our show – we haven’t talked about another show in months (unless they talked about us first, like your piece of shit show, which we will talk about). YOU’VE NEVER LISTENED AND YET YOU’RE AN EXPERT ON HOW WE HAVE NO CONTENT AND LISTENERS SHOULD BE ASHAMED??? Are you fucking kidding me? Who talked shit about you? No one. Spread some more lies, douche. Talk more shit about a show you don’t know anything about, you stupid two-faced excuse for a trucker. What are you hauling, besides lies?

Fuck you. You’re the most hypocritical pussy tucker I’ve ever heard. 10-4?

Patrick Melton

Nobody Likes Onions
____________________________________

I emailed Patrick Melton back apologizing for flying off the handle, making false assumptios and for whatever I got wrong. I also told him I’d be honored if he plays my clip and rips me to shreds. After all, there’s no such thing as bad publicity. I’ve already received a tremendous response from this email, so by simply sending it Patrick Melton has already done me a huge favor. Keep up the great work Patrick Melton!!!

Actually, Patrick Melton DID accept a Podcast Award for the “Distorted View” podcast, so it’s all starting to make sense. Now if I could only find out what vile things he said to Father Roderick… What I initially said regarding Nobody Likes Onions may not be that far off the mark… Here’s he YouTube video of Patrick Melton receiving the Podcast award:

“When someone shares something of value with you and you benefit from it, you have a moral obligation to share it with others.”

http://m.podshow.com/media/131/episodes/34670/truckertom-34670-11-03-2006.mp3

Patrick Melton says he’s looking forward to ripping my podcast to shreds in a future episode of Nobody Likes Onions. I consider that an honor and he is free to do whatever he likes with my audio as long as he clearly mentions my website link as well as posts it in their shownotes. There’s no such thing as bad publicity! Awesome!

So, I stayed up way past my bedtime and created this one:

http://truckerphoto.com/delme/rv_idiots_promo_trucker_tom.mp3

Gotta get to bed !!!!

Here’s the link to her latest episode:

http://m.podshow.com/media/2888/episodes/34220/rvidiots-34220-11-01-2006.mp3

Track my locatio by clicking here:

http://my.navizon.com/UserAdmin/tracker.aspx?user_id=3868

My Mom is podcasting and is doing pretty well for an 81-year-old! Here are more of her brief podcasts:

Podcast number “2 Squirrels Get Ready For Winter:”

http://m.podshow.com/media/2888/episodes/33208/rvidiots-33208-10-27-2006.mp3

Podcast number “3 Full Days:”

http://m.podshow.com/media/2888/episodes/33630/rvidiots-33630-10-29-2006.mp3

Podcast number “4 Leaves Flying:”

http://m.podshow.com/media/2888/episodes/33745/rvidiots-33745-10-30-2006.mp3

You can email her feedback at rvidiots@gmail.com.

http://m.podshow.com/media/2888/episodes/33075/rvidiots-33075-10-26-2006.mp3

http://m.podshow.com/media/131/episodes/33050/truckertom-33050-10-26-2006.mp3

As a Rush Limbaugh listener I’ve never tried to call in or have even felt motivated to, especially since with his show in particular you would likely have to set aside a couple of hours or more to get through to him while waiting on all the advertising breaks.

I don’t view the thousands of other podcasters out there as competition to my podcast, and here’s why. My podcast is about what I’m thinking about, talking about and reacting to today when I’m recording the podcast, and that’s something that’s uniquely mine that no one else has a window into.

If I were trying to do a music podcast, I’d be in big trouble since I’m not really that obsessed with music. The music I’d like to share with my audience is 95% off-limits RIAA music, so rather than trying to concentrate on finding podsafe music to share, I occasionally share podsafe music that I’ve found that I really like.

The podcasts I’m listening to are based around the personality of the podcaster. How many friends do you have? Do people have to compete to be your friend? Conversely do you have to compete to be friends with other people? Again, these are areas where competition isn’t an issue.

Would it work if I had someone “fill in” for me on my podcast? Not at all. What it really comes down to is how one approaches podcasting. If it’s based around personality, then competition doesn’t enter into it. If it’s based around doing a certain “type” of show that’s more about production that any good producer could string together, that anyone could “fill in” for as a guest host, then competition suddenly becomes something to worry about.

The only way I could have a “guest host” on my podcast would be maybe if I developed schizophrenia or multiple personalities!

There are likely people who “sample” my podcast and find they don’t care for it and move on, just as there are many people I meet that I don’t become friends with.

The other thing revolves around motivation. Is a podcaster motivated to make new friends and communicate with old ones? That’s really what keeps me motivated to podcast. If I was trying to “create” something with my podcast other than making new friends and communicating with old ones, I’d have lost my motivation after the first month or two. Despite the fact that I’m politically conservative and do believe in God, I’ve got a way of approaching most people that doesn’t scare them away that I don’t really understand all that well myself.

Podcasters that are coming into it just to create slick “content” quickly lose their motivation and fade out. It happens all the time.

Regardless of how many podcasts come on board, commercial or not, I’m still going to be out there finding new friends and communicating with old ones. When it really comes down to brass tacks that’s why I do it and that’s what keeps supplying my motivation.

http://m.podshow.com/media/131/episodes/31690/truckertom-31690-10-18-2006.mp3

Hear Bruce talk about fun things he does in his day job, such as baste turkey with motor oil to get that just so-so appetizing look…

Here’s a photo of me with Bruce at the 2006 Podcast and Portable Media Expo in Ontario, California.

Much more interesting to me is the question of ego — how did man’s ego come to be? Why is mankind the only species with ego? Clearly it is one of the things that sets us apart from the other occupants of this planet, and it’s the one imperfect element in an otherwise perfect universe. Did man’s ego evolve from some distant animal ancestor? Obviously not. Where did it come from? No one seems to ever think of looking into this question.

http://m.podshow.com/media/1166/episodes/31029/videovoom-31029-10-14-2006.m4v

http://m.podshow.com/media/131/episodes/30836/truckertom-30836-10-13-2006.mp3

http://m.podshow.com/media/131/episodes/29930/truckertom-29930-10-09-2006.mp3

Brad is a great guy to hang around with!!!!!

http://m.podshow.com/media/131/episodes/29505/truckertom-29505-10-06-2006.mp3

Chris is an absolute blast to hang out with!!!!!!

http://m.podshow.com/media/131/episodes/29125/truckertom-29125-10-04-2006.mp3

Father Roderick is every bit as fun in person as he comes across in his podcasts! Thanks Father Roderick!!!!

Here are links to Portable Media Expo audio episodes I’ve already put up:

The Day Before — http://m.podshow.com/media/131/episodes/28349/truckertom-28349-09-29-2006.mp3

The Second Day — http://m.podshow.com/media/131/episodes/28504/truckertom-28504-09-30-2006.mp3

The Third Day — http://m.podshow.com/media/131/episodes/28652/truckertom-28652-10-01-2006.mp3

More Audio — http://m.podshow.com/media/131/episodes/28828/truckertom-28828-10-02-2006.mp3

In the long term I’ve stayed to podcasts that (1) keep me informed about what’s going on in podcasting, (2) keep me informed on the latest Internet/tech-related news stories, (3) give me some sort of substance/value for the time I spend listening. That last one — the substance/value element — is quite important for every podcast, and tends to revolve around whether I like the podcaster’s personality, how genuine and honest they are being, etc. I have ended up dropping a number of podcasts over time where the podcasters weren’t genuine, or I didn’t feel like I could be friends with them in person given the opportunity.

It really does boil down to whether or not I could be friends with them in person. That’s one reason I think an annual gathering like the Podcast & Portable Media Expo is so important — it gives people the chance to actually meet each other and compare what comes across in the podcast versus what comes across in the real world.

I was going to drop the file on Monday morning after midnight, but something went haywire with the Podshow scheduling option and it dropped immediately. Here’s the directlink to the file:

http://m.podshow.com/media/131/episodes/26383/truckertom-26383-09-16-2006.mp3

Thanks Hilly for putting up with an amateur interviewer!

I like the uTorrent program. The program download is extremely small. Also, once it’s installed and the program is opened it has a search function in the upper right corner of the screen. I typed in “Path to 911″ into the search box and it gave me the following link, which I am currently downloading:

The.Path.To.911.Complete.BBC2.UK.Sept.2006.XviD.torrent

http://www.forbes.com/home/feeds/ap/2006/09/12/ap3012044.html

I know I’ve personally seen a number of motorcycle wrecks in the past few months that I’ve happened upon that are being worked as I’m out
driving around. I’m not sure why this is happening. It may be that the types of bikes that are being sold has something to do with it.

Also there’s more traffic. Besides the age of the bikers increasing, the overall age of motorists is also increasing as well. So I guess you could
say more traffic as well as older drivers/riders is likely part of the culprit.

The other thing the article mentioned was alcohol being a factor in 41% of the accidents. That’s pretty big. Someone drinking alcohol and driving a car is bad enough, but combine alcohol with a motorcycle and it makes it even more dangerous.

The bottom line is that whether one is driving or riding, it’s always best to assume that people around you are going to do stupid things and plan
accordingly.

The other thing is that certain areas of the country are more congested than ever. 20 or 30 years ago Florida still had some rural areas. Today that has changed dramatically — much of it is congested with heavy traffic and stoplights which to me doesn’t make for much of an enjoyable riding experience anyway.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHMjQlgwT6k

http://www.truckerphoto.com/media/trucker_tom_hilly_rose.mp3

Be sure to tune in to http://www.truckertompodcast.com on Monday, September 18, 2006.

Old IBM machines such as these are engineering marvels. Filled with metal parts and clean motherboard designs, they are still chugging away years later after competing hardware has long been deteriorating in landfills.

A great way to rescue old hardware from what I like to call “Digital Senility” is to install a light-footprint version of Linux such as “Damn Small Linux” (or “DSL Linux for short) available at http://www.damnsmalllinux.org.

I recorded a video of a quick “DSL Linux” install on one of these machines available here:

http://truckerpodcastnetwork.com/media/Installing_DSL_Linux.m4v

Here’s the WMV version of the same file:

http://truckerpodcastnetwork.com/media/Installing_DSL-Linux.wmv

My friend Ron Stroope posted an excellent video interview of a Hurricane Katrina refugee Ricky Lips that moved to Shreveport, Louisiana. I highly reccommend watching it. The video is located at:

http://media.podshow.com/media/1416/episodes/24108/zip71101-24108-08-31-2006.mp4

Now that Apple has moved to the Intel platform, which has enabled them to reduce the cost of their hardware dramatically along with a very smooth, sophisticated operating system in OS/X, all bets are off.

As I see it there are three different ways to go if you want to make yourself into a sort of computer tech. Windows is an obvious no-brainier, since there’s such a huge installed market base. Linux will continue to be around but I don’t see it as a big growth area anytime soon. Apple’s OS/X is going to be a big growth area in the next few years.

One of the problems with computers is that peoples’ expectations are constantly changing, so it’s a moving target. A perfectly functional computer today may be utterly useless to someone tomorrow, because a new piece of hardware or software comes out that their hardware and/or operating system combination won’t run. Let’s say one has a Linux system set up and all the installed devices work, but then the scanner stops working and another one is needed. It would be difficult to go to the big box store and simply buy a new scanner and bring it home and plug it in and make it work on any version of Linux. The same goes for other things such as sound cards, video cards, etc. That’s why I say Linux just isn’t ready for primetime.

I really think that Apple is poised to start eating a huge chunk of the computer marketplace. I never thought I’d say this, but it’s highly likely my next laptop will be an Apple running OS/X at some point, alongside Windows on Apple Intel hardware.

The anti-trust case against Microsoft was a Clinton administration abuse of power designed to distract attention away from Clinton’s well-documented moral and legal shortcomings. Microsoft doesn’t have a monopoly. Microsoft has been successful simply because it made a software product that ties together literally thousands of different computer parts to support a family of operating systems. Linux is fun to play with and quite stable, but will never go mainstream as it currently exists because of it’s spartan, geeky look, and worst of all, the cryptic names employed.

Apple has had the real monopoly — they sold hardware that was tied to their own operating system, making it possible for them to charge a premium for their hardware in the face of a low-margin computer hardware commodity business. Apple made it’s smartest move in years by switching to the Intel platform and suddenly making it possible for the first time to natively run Windows on their proprietary Apple hardware. I’ve said for years Apple could make a fortune by manufacturing a Windows machine to their hardware and appearance standards, and now in a real sense they have started to do so. If they were smart they would, for an extra price, ship them with the dual-boot feature already enabled with both OS/X and Windows pre-installed and pre-configured. At that point they would have a nearly unstoppable premium product. They would be competing at that point with a vastly superior product, and still get to charge extra for their proprietary computer hardware in the face of a low-margin computer part commodity market.

The analogy would be back in the VHS versus Beta wars had Sony quickly decided to make extra money by making a Sony VHS machine while still enticing people to try out Betamax. People would have paid a premium for a high-quality Sony VHS machine back in the day when VCR’s were still catching on. Sony finally did give up on consumer Beta machines and started making Sony VHS machines, but that was too little too late, as by that time VCR’s were a high quantity, low-profit-margin commodity. Now Apple has high quality machines that will also run Windows, but come with OS/X as well, so consumers have a choice in a single high-quality piece of hardware.

Apple wants to remain a hardware manufacturer, so switching to Intel was one choice. The other would have been to try make OS/X run on just any hardware, requiring thousands and thousands of specialized, often incompatible and/or buggy hardware drivers, a problem Microsoft has been dealing with for years, and has been rewarded quite handsomely for.

I’m working on the concept right now of an Apple-centric podcast that will likely focus on ways of pushing out the elitists and help normal, mainstream people realize the benefits of the Apple platform. I’m likely going to make many of the elitist types mad, which will be all-the-better, especially if I can get them to send in childish, angry email and voice comments.

Often people who think of themselves as being “different” and “elitist” end up in a predictable, cookie-cutter mentality.

I’m heading back to work this morning. I’ve got to go over to Memphis, Tennessee to pick up a load that’s delivering to Palmyra, Pennsylvania.

I’ve uploaded the WVM version of a video I’m calling “Highway 97” to the VideoVoom site. Later ths evening I’ll be uploading the Video iPod version of the file. Here’s the direct link to the WMV version:

http://m.podshow.com/media/1166/episodes/17761/videovoom-17761-07-30-2006.wmv

In the meantime, I needed to get my paperwork into the office if I wanted to have a paycheck next week. Normally it goes in via Transflow, which is set up in Pilot and Love’s truck stops. Unfortunately, there are no Pilot’s or Love’s anywhere near Montgomery, so the next best option is to fax the paperwork in to an 800 number.

At first I kept thinking I was going to have to fax 19 pages in through this T/A truck stop’s fax machine. It would have been pricey — $2 for the first page and $1 for each additional page — a total of $21 just to get my completed trip paperwork faxed in even though it would be faxed to a toll-free number. I was also looking at online faxing alternatives, but they would also be pricey. All of the online faxing services want to set you up on an expensive monthly payment whether you have faxes to send or not.

Then, I happened to remember that computers do still come with integrated fax/modems, and that there was a possibility that I could find a working “data” jack in this truck stop to fax to the toll-free number with. I checked and the truck stop did have data jacks in the restaurant next to the table phones. So, I came back out to the truck and used my $80 HP all-in-one scanner/copier/printer to scan all 19 pages into JPEG files. Then I created a 19 page long Word document with each JPEG covering the page. Fortunately I had presence enough of mind to pack a conventional phone cord into my laptop bag, just in case I ever needed it for some reason. Then I went into the truck stop, set the computer up in a booth, and was able to fax the 19 page word document to the Transflow toll-free number. It took 35 minutes to transmit because of all the highly complex graphics, but all of the pages finally transmitted. In the meantime I ordered something to eat and got finished eating just about the time the 19 pages successfully finished transmitting.

It’s sort of funny how we forget about things like fax/modems after we don’t make use of them for five or more years, even though they are still present in most every laptop machine sold.

After messing around on the computer a bit and recording a couple of podcasts I went to bed. I woke up around 7:10 PM and shortly after that my friend and fellow podcaster Ron Stroope

came and picked me up and we met his son Shawn Stroope and a musician friend for dinner at a local restaurant. Afterwards Ron took me to his house to meet his wife A.J. as well as show me his podcast studio.

I had a great time! One of the side-benefits of traveling around the country as much as I do is the fact that I sometimes have extra time to spend time with friends I’ve made through podcasting!!

People often make the mistake of looking for particular outcomes, whether they are conscious of it or not.

The key for each individual is to always examine his or her own motivations. That can be a tough thing, because people frequently lie to themselves in order to avoid the searing pain of conscience. As we lie to ourselves we frequently engage the services of other people, places and things to help bolster and sustain our own self-lies — in other words, we find ways and means to keep the self-delusions going.

Right now I’m at Big Springs, Nebraska about to head on west towards Albany, Oregon.

Stuff eventually always is made easier. Remember the first CD burners? The first generation of burners likely were rarely used, because the burner software was so awful. The software eventually got much better and shielded users from having to make all sorts of unfathomable geeky decisions and go through a 50-step process and simply worked like they were supposed to.

Podcast listening will eventually get easier as time goes on. People will figure out how to make it more simple. Also people will be motivated to learn how to listen if they see how it is to their advantage to do so. If you can show someone the benefit they can get out of learning to do something on the computer, they are much more likely to make the effort to learn how to do it so they can take advantage of the benefit.

I thought about getting a motel room, but I’d have to drive a ways either east or west on I-80 so I decided I’d just hang out here.

I was having a problem uploading podcast 317 but I finally got it uploaded this afternoon.

Here’s a photo I took with my cell phone a bit less than an hour ago.

http://music.podshow.com/PDNswitch/001.swf
http://music.podshow.com/PDNswitch/002.swf
http://music.podshow.com/PDNswitch/003.swf
http://music.podshow.com/PDNswitch/004.swf
http://music.podshow.com/PDNswitch/005.swf
http://music.podshow.com/PDNswitch/006.swf
http://music.podshow.com/PDNswitch/007.swf
http://music.podshow.com/PDNswitch/008.swf
http://music.podshow.com/PDNswitch/009.swf
http://music.podshow.com/PDNswitch/010.swf
http://music.podshow.com/PDNswitch/011.swf
http://music.podshow.com/PDNswitch/012.swf

I play PodPeople by Munk and also go through a bunch of listener email.

GoDaddy Discount Codes — tom1 10% off, tom2 $5 of any $30+ purchase, tom3 $6.95 dot com domain name

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I talk about making and posting a video for the Geoff Smith song Pod Save The Queen. I also talk about Podshow+ opening it’s beta to the public as of July 4, 2006. Additionally I talk about the importance of getting over the resentment one has towards one’s parents before they die.

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http://m.podshow.com/media/131/episodes/8292/truckertompodcast-8292-07-03-2006.m4v

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Here are some sills from the video:

http://m.podshow.com/media/131/episodes/8290/truckertompodcast-8290-07-03-2006.wmv

The idea for an Earthlink ad popped into my head this evening, so I spent much of the evening putting it together so I play it right at the first of the podcast. I also go through listener email.

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I read a couple of interesting news stories, as well as play Cute Is What We Aim For by Finger Twist & Split and Am I Awake by They Might Be Giants. I also play part of a listener comment I received back in April that gave me a really evil idea…

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A podcast listener gave me an evil idea…, originally uploaded by Trucker Tom.

A couple of months back a listener to my mp3 audio podcast (http://truckertom.podshow.com) sent a voice comment responding to a cell phone video I’d put up in the podcast feed telling me that it looked to him in the washed-out video that I must shave my eyebrows. Never being one to let convention stand in the way of experimentation when it comes to my appearance, that gave me an idea… This is the result…

Back at work today and headed towards Bethlehem, Pennsylvania I talk more about my neck problems, about the movie Brokeback Mountain, as well as play a listener audio comment by podcaster Michael Dell. I also play Turn It Up by Robots In Disguise.

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Sign up now for the Podshow Plus Beta and reserve your screen name now. I have a sneaking suspicion that the Podshow Plus Beta will be opening to the public on July 4, 2006…

Coming to you once again from home in NW Arkansas I talk about installing a DVD recorder as well as Windows Vista Beta 2.

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From home in NW Arkansas I talk about being home and also play a clip I recorded while I was waiting at a local Lewis Ford dealership in Fayetteville, Arkansas this morning.

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http://m.podshow.com/media/131/episodes/7966/truckertompodcast-7966-06-24-2006.m4v

http://m.podshow.com/media/131/episodes/7949/truckertompodcast-7949-06-23-2006.wmv

My Truck, originally uploaded by Trucker Tom.

Here’s my new truck

From Dallas, Texas I play Fortune Cookie Prize by BeatHappening as well as go through listener email.

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http://ces.seagatestorage.com/?elqPURLPage=1030

Me, originally uploaded by Trucker Tom.

Testing Flickr’s automated blogging capability.

Here it is with my hand in the frame to help you judge its small size.

Coming to you from Texas on US Hwy. 290 between Houston and Austin, I talk more about trucking.

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I play Am I Awake by They Might Be Giants as well as talk more about trucking and the new Garmin GPS unit I purchased a few days ago.

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From U.S. Hwy. 81 in southern Nebraska and northern Kansas I talk about the events of the past couple of days, including moving into a new truck with 1,369 miles on the odometer.

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As I drive through Missouri on I-70 and I-435 around Kansas City I talk about the valuable life lessons that can be learned from President Bush sticking with the war in Iraq and how those lessons can be applied to everyday life. I also play an audio clip of the latest BBC In Business podcast with Peter Day about Web 2.0 and discuss some of the ramifications of the changes that are coming about.

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From Effingham, Illinois, I go through listener email, play a brief sound seeing tour of me ordering food at an Arby’s at the Pilot truck stop at Terre Haute, Indiana, along with playing a podcast promo.

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I’ve been listening to your podcasts for a long time now. I began with reading your blogs some time ago when you where spotlighted in our large metropolitan newspaper. It has been a fun journey seeing or actually “listening” to your progression with your podcasts.

I do enjoy listening to your travels around the country and your talks about your truck. I’ve never driven a truck nor do I desire to, but I used to get my hands greasy with an old 4×4. I guess I’m just intrigued by mechanical things!

I’m constantly scouting out other podcasts, but I keep coming back to yours. I just find so many of the others try to be something that they are not; yours is real, down to earth and personal. I think it’s your approach that makes this new medium so exciting, so real!

Five years ago at the age of 43, I went back to college full time. In 2004 I received my Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Information Systems, a field that I have been working in all my life. I bring this up because I am absolutely amazed at your philosophical views and your approaches to everyday life. In my three years at the university I never ran across a professor or class that had such insights into life that you talk about. As a man quickly approaching 50, I am finding myself struggling more with life itself at times. Your talks on anger and dealing with people really have had an impact on me. Please keep up the good work in this area.

I do have to say though, that I sort of cringe when you get on the subject of politics. I really disagree with you in this area. I think you tend to position yourself at one extreme by bantering about the other extreme. One thing that college did teach me was to study and learn about both or all sides of an issue or subject matter, so in that light I’m not just throwing away what you have to say; I do listen to it. I think at times though I could take your talk word for word and just replace your words of the “crazy left” with “crazy right” and your talk would be just as appropriate. As a gay man I place myself right in the middle, just where I believe an overwhelming majority of all Americans fit, straight and gay. My belief is that both parties have failed us terribly and I don’t see any hope from either side in the foreseeable future. I agree with you that this country is lacking leadership even from the current president. No matter what one’s views are of Reagan, I think in modern times there have only been a scarce few with leadership qualities such as his. Where are the Reagans today, from any party?

I have one last comment on your politics. In your last podcast you talked about how the death of Al-Zarqawi was also a defeat for the left. I just can’t believe that you think this is true. I think it would be great to show your listeners, myself included, the evidence that you base this statement on. I watch the news and I read the newspapers; I just don’t see where you are coming from on this. I thing statements backed up by evidence leads to a much stronger enlightening position on a subject!

Politics aside, I really get a kick out of how you have embraced technology both in your profession and in your podcasting. As a person in the computer field, I find myself and others alike not embracing technology at times as much as folks like you in other fields. Maybe those of us in the field think we know too much about it and we don’t look outside our little “boxes”.

Tom, thanks a million for turning us listeners on to Rob Costlow. I can’t begin to tell you how much I enjoy his music.

Thanks

Dean

PS: A question about your hosting site for your mp3 files… Where do you physically host your mp3 files? Your links point to PodShow. Is PodShow actually hosting your files? I don’t find any links on the PodShow site for hosting services. Whats up with all this? I’m asking because my partner and I are starting a podcast and looking at hosting sites.
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My response:

Dean,

Glad you are enjoying the podcast. I really enjoy putting it together. The answer has turned out to be rather lengthy, so I’m going to make a blog post out of it.

If you listen I do also talk about the crazy, rabid right. I’m talking about the Bible-thumpers that wrap themselves in the Bible and Jesus on Wednesdays and Sundays and then go home and beat their wives and kids during the week — total plastic, fake, phony hypocrisy. You can almost always tell one of these people by the way they mispronounce “Jesus” by putting too much emphasis on the first syllable of the name. Mispronouncing the name “Jesus” as “GEEE-sus” is actually an hypnotic cue to keep themselves and the group they are part of hypnotized. They also usually have similar trouble with the word “God.”

One of the tactics of the left has been to portray people in the center as being “right” of center — to sort of “move” the apparent center to the left so they can lump reasonable people in with the plastic, phony Bible-thumper types. Both the crazy left and the crazy right are egotistical zealots led by the same demon. The crazy left is actually an outgrowth of the crazy right. These types of leftists are usually children of a religious hypocrite — they saw the hypocrisy and are trying to go to the opposite extreme. Whether they end up on the far left or the far right, they are not themselves. The far left tries to turn government into god via socialism and communism. The far, hypocritical right tries to turn the church and the Bible into god. Both groups thus avoiding the real God.

An example of the left trying to “move” the apparent center to the left is the cliché reaction that someone expressing my political views must be some sort of right-wing gay-basher. Nothing could be further from the truth. Believe it or not I have gay friends. None of us are perfect, however I am careful never to base my friendships on either “accepting” or “rejecting” people based on what is “right” or “wrong” with them. I generally look for people I can either spend time with in a social context such as watching a movie or eating out somewhere, and/or people I have some common interest with. If you’ve seen a picture of me then you know I’m covered with tattoos. I don’t seek peoples’ approval for my tattoos either way. If they like them, fine, but I’m not going to allow myself to get an ego charge out of it if they compliment me. Because I’m not eating at the trough of approval, when outright rejection and/or criticism for my tattoos does come, I’m not devastated.

That brings up an interesting story. When I was in southern Alabama Saturday afternoon before I unloaded I walked in to a small truck stop diner north of where I was to unload. There was a group of people at a table, including a young boy and what must have been his grandfather. The boy must have pointed out my tattoos before I even got a chance to sit down, because I immediately heard the grandfather go into this fairly loud spiel about how he wouldn’t have “even one” tattoo because he “believed” it would be defiling “the body.” I’m sure I also heard a “GEE-sus” in his rant somewhere. Whatever. He made such a big deal out of it when the grandchild gets to be a rebellious teenager getting a tattoo is likely to be high on the list of things to do to demonstrate his rebellion. His rant didn’t bother me one way or the other, because as I say I have learned not to live out of the approval of others. Approval and disapproval are two sides of the same coin.

The far right hypocrites actually take the words about the truth and sort of make it into something that glorifies their own ego. Sadly, the Truth is nowhere to be found in most churches. They’ve got the words, but they ain’t got the music.

The far left tries to reject everything about God and Absolute Truth, but it’s still egotistical — the reasoning goes like this, “There is no God, therefore I must be God.”

The statement “There is no God” is a contradiction. Let me explain. “There is no God” is like declaring, “There are no Absolutes.” Are you Absolutely sure, because it’s an “Absolute” statement that contradicts itself. Furthermore the person declaring that “Absolute” is playing God in his or her own mind.

The far left is sympathetic to Zarqawi. They genuinely see George Bush as the great threat. Notice how the left excuses the barbaric acts of both Zarqawi and Sadam Hussein. Near Zarqawi they found a collection of 17 human heads that had been sawed off, yet this has barely been reported in the so-called mainstream press. The left-wing mainstream media would love to turn this into a scandal — note the reports about some neighbor named “Mohammad” that purportedly witnessed the Americans beating Zarqawi after they arrived following the bombing — this despite the fact that the house was on secluded acreage surrounded by palm groves — they would like nothing more than to stir up more American hatred in the Muslim world. They have done everything in their power to undermine the war effort and give secrets away to the enemy. Those on the left honestly feel that if they could somehow “show” the people in the middle-east enough “love” that they would just live and let live. This is delusional thinking — the terrorists want us ALL dead, regardless of what our politics are or whether we think with our common sense or pure emotion. Whether they realize it or not, the rabid left is on the inside what the terrorists are on the outside. The terrorists must be defeated, and so must the American left be defeated.

It’s helpful to realize that the war between the left and the right is an extension of the age-old war between the sexes. The far right represents an angry dad that has lost his power to his wife and is trying to get it back via the force of anger. The far left represents a coddling, spoiling mother that ends up with all the power through the failing of the dad to properly deal with her in a calm but firm way.

The other thing that never ceases to amaze me is the rabid, burning hatred for George W. Bush. Reagan was hated but never to this extent. I realized recently that this Bush hatred was likely made worse by the fact that Bill Clinton was President for 8 years, and sexual decadence and lying officials ruled the roost. Both political parties have failed, however at this point in history the Democrats cannot be trusted with the security of this country no matter how poorly the Republicans are governing.

You don’t have to agree with every word I say. If you hear something you don’t like, take it with a grain of salt — sort of like, “Yeah, that could be, but then again maybe not.”

If you can really learn to get a handle on your own emotions and knee-jerk resentment responses, none of this other stuff really matters that much.

Podshow does host my MP3 files. So far, it’s by invitation only. At some point in the future they will likely offer hosting plans. In the meantime if you are looking for a good, inexpensive podcast MP3 hosting plan, check out www.slapcast.com.

Talk to you later,
TOM

Tom’s trucking audio podcast!!! Visit http://feeds.feedburner.com/TruckinTomsPodcast .
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Coming to you from Zanesville, Ohio, I go through listener email and also play a listener voice comment. A guy earlier today where I was unloading told me I looked like someone named Rob Halford of the band Judas Priest.

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And me with Adam Curry’s “Trinity” bio-diesel station wagon behind the Podshow HQ in downtown San Francisco, California in early January 2006:

From I-75 near Macon and Atlanta, Georgia I talk about repairing software installation problems and respond to listener email.

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Today from Albany, Georgia I play an interview with Shawn Stroope describing his podcast music service, as well as Hit or Miss number 3. In the Hit or Miss segment I play Anyone Out There? by Hoverfly.

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I go through a bunch of listener email and also talk about why the elimination of Zarqawi is not only a defeat to Alcadia but also a defeat to the American left and political lefties world-wide.

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From I-70 and I-65 in the Indianapolis, Indiana area on my way to deliver in Frankfort, Indiana.

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