Well, maybe Calvin can do this but most of the rest of us can't. The trouble is this, so often we care too much. We have to find a happy medium. A place where we have enough concern to fuel ambition but enough apathy to prevent a nervous breakdown.

Greenville is a decidedly more dangerous place to drive since BMW built their plant here. I travel the Interstate in this area many hours each day and I constantly see people take incredible chances. Changing lanes recklessly and cutting off other drivers. I've noticed that fully 60% of these drivers are driving BMW's. This isn't a scientific study or anything like that but just a rough estimate. I get the impression that these drivers think that because of the make of their vehicle they have special priveledges.

I try not to get too involved in politics ( see first sentence of this entry) but I'm really beginning to believe that we need to find a way out of Iraq. Everyone said that pulling out of VietNam was a big mistake but we're still here. If Iraq is going to be that much of a threat to us with a bunch of radical Islamist in charge then we need to nuke Iran and Syria and kill all the Palestinians. What we really need to do is say Screw the tree huggers and develop our own oil fields. Quit buying any oil in the middle east and these fruitcakes wouldn't have US dollars to buy weapons with. Go to a Manhattan Project level to develop alternative energies and become energy independent.

Enough for now. Thanks for reading.

I traveled to Columbia, SC today to repair some cash acceptors in 5 of our gas pumps. We have to make this trip about once a month. People are constantly trying to cheat the machines and subsequently we have to repair them regularly. Our company is very customer oriented and the pay at pump is one our big sell features.

When I returned to Greenville I had to trouble shoot a pump that was pumping slow on Prem only on both sides. Turned out to be a control board issue. I popped in the software and powered up the pump. Shazam! I put the software in backwards and fried it. Had to wait around about 30 minutes while another tech brought me a replacement.

Lady called me over while I was working on this pump and demanded to know why her pump wasn't working. Turns out she hadn't paid yet, our pumps are all prepay. We used to trust people but even the little old ladies will drive off nowadays.

Thanks for reading.

Strange Things

Here's a couple of plane pics I found that I thought were really funny. The bottom one is a good reason to avoid flying.

I had a really frustrating day today. I spent 5 hours troubleshooting one gas pump and still didn't fix it. When I headed home tonite one of the other men called and said he had been there a couple of hours and wasn't having a lot of luck either. This guy has been doing this 20 years so it made me feel better to know even experiece doesn't always make a difference.

We had a pump at one store give problems for a couple of months once. Finally I opened it up and spent a couple of hours poking at it. I found a 16 gauge wire melted in a wire harness. It was hidden behind the other wires and was just making enough contact to work until it got heated up.

Sometimes the obvious is hidden by false perceptions. We thought this pump had control board problems and all along it was a fried wire.

People are like that too. Someone gives you grief over a small issue and you think maybe they are mad at you. Later you find that this person has a personal problem that is really eating at them and they didn't realize how strongly they reacted to the small issue.

Cherish your relationships and make the most of each one. Life is too short to miss out on any good experiences. Thanks for reading.

Interesting Journey

Hi, glad you could join us. We will be cruising at an altitude of 1500 feet above sea level at a speed of approximately 1000 miles per hour. Our journey will take 24 hours and we will end up right where we started. Have a safe and eventful trip!
I may have mentioned this before but here goes again. Don't leave your car running with the doors unlocked while you run into the store for a pack of smokes. The insurance company will not, I promise, be understanding about this. I also promise that the crackhead who takes off in your car is not going to treat it with the same loving care that you do. I see this every day and I have yet to figure out what universe these people have been living in while Mayberry disappeared.

I though you might enjoy this tattoo my son did for a customer. Thanks for reading.

Been a while

It's been several months since I last posted. I made it through the holidays and into the new year. this is quite an accomplishment for me each year. Like so many others the holiday season leaves me feeling depressed and sad. I guess I expect something more than how it always plays out.the truth is I could do without all the hoopla.
I read an interesting book last week. Titled "The purpose Driven Life" by Rick Warren it starts out ok and then turns into another "Go to church and pay your tithes" apologist.There are good parts however. For example the writer gives a good explanation for why so many marriages end when the empty nest occurs. It's worth reading.
I'll try to post more tomorrow. Thanks for reading.