What's On Your Mind? (1 Viewer)

[Clinton McClure]

So I got volunteered to spend next week in Jacksonville, FL. I’ve never been there. Any good places to go eat or interesting things to do after work every day?

 

[Jeffrey D]

So I got volunteered to spend next week in Jacksonville, FL. I’ve never been there. Any good places to go eat or interesting things to do after work every day?

Funny- that’s where I am right now- the accident happened south of here, and the truck is getting fixed here. Not sure what the next step is.

 

[Clinton McClure]

Funny- that’s where I am right now- the accident happened south of here, and the truck is getting fixed here. Not sure what the next step is.

Looking at Apple Maps, there are beaches and booze there.

 

[Jeffrey D]

Looking at Apple Maps, there are beaches and booze there.

I asked the tow guy about a motel/hotel that is convenient to eats places. Staying in a Holiday Inn Express, west of town. There’s a store within easy walking distance that sells
16oz beer singles. Came in handy yesterday.

 

[Clinton McClure]

I’ll be staying in NW Jax, just outside the city proper. There’s a Subway, a wing place, a Chinese restaurant, a Japanese restaurant, and a Mexican restaurant all next door to the hotel. It’s gonna be a 13+ hour drive so I’ll probably be leaving home around 4 Sunday morning.

 

[Desslar]

I’ll be staying in NW Jax, just outside the city proper. There’s a Subway, a wing place, a Chinese restaurant, a Japanese restaurant, and a Mexican restaurant all next door to the hotel. It’s gonna be a 13+ hour drive so I’ll probably be leaving home around 4 Sunday morning.

13 hours… wow. Wonder if it wouldn’t save corporate some money for you to fly.

 

[Jeffrey D]

I’ll be staying in NW Jax, just outside the city proper. There’s a Subway, a wing place, a Chinese restaurant, a Japanese restaurant, and a Mexican restaurant all next door to the hotel. It’s gonna be a 13+ hour drive so I’ll probably be leaving home around 4 Sunday morning.

The company got me a rental car, so I drove the whole 767 miles home yesterday. This might sound strange, but that’s the most miles I’ve ever driven in one shot. Total time of the trip- 12:15, including the time for 3 brief stops for gas/food. I was pretty spent by the time I got home.

 

[Clinton McClure]

13 hours… wow. Wonder if it wouldn’t save corporate some money for you to fly.

I could have flown except I had to bring my tools with me so I can take field repair calls as well as help with my current assignment this week. No way I’m flying with my luggage plus two big tool bags.

 

[Clinton McClure]

The company got me a rental car, so I drove the whole 767 miles home yesterday. This might sound strange, but that’s the most miles I’ve ever driven in one shot. Total time of the trip- 12:15, including the time for 3 brief stops for gas/food. I was pretty spent by the time I got home.

I imagine you’re limited to 8 hours with a rest period before you can do another 8 when you’re behind the wheel of your rig.

 

[Desslar]

I could have flown except I had to bring my tools with me so I can take field repair calls as well as help with my current assignment this week. No way I’m flying with my luggage plus two big tool bags.

I see. That makes me think of when I was traveling on a sales trip for an electrical tools manufacturer in August 2001, and breezed through airport security with a carry on duffel bag full of various wirecutters, pliers, screwdrivers, etc,

 

[jayembee]

I see. That makes me think of when I was traveling on a sales trip for an electrical tools manufacturer in August 2001, and breezed through airport security with a carry on duffel bag full of various wirecutters, pliers, screwdrivers, etc,

Back in the day...1980s...I used to fly with my carry-on baggage being a small backpack. I never thought about -- or had to think about -- the fact that in one of the pouches of the pack I carried a folding knife.

 

[Jeffrey D]

I imagine you’re limited to 8 hours with a rest period before you can do another 8 when you’re behind the wheel of your rig.

Yes we have to take a 30 minute break, by the end of an 8 hour driving shift. We’re limited to 11 hours of driving in a duty cycle- after the 30 minute break, we can only do 3 more hours on “line 3” (driving).
I couldn’t have legally driven 767 miles in one day, under the DOT hours of service rules.

 

[BobO'Link]

I see. That makes me think of when I was traveling on a sales trip for an electrical tools manufacturer in August 2001, and breezed through airport security with a carry on duffel bag full of various wirecutters, pliers, screwdrivers, etc,

That's somewhat amazing... Sometime around 2000-2010 my mom, a beautician (in her 70s), was flying to FL to visit her brother and had her favorite scissors in her purse. Airport security confiscated them and gave her no way to get them back (she offered to pay to have them mailed to the house)...

They were similar to these:

It very much annoyed her to lose them as she'd had that particular pair for over 30 years.

 

[Desslar]

That's somewhat amazing... Sometime around 2000-2010 my mom, a beautician (in her 70s), was flying to FL to visit her brother and had her favorite scissors in her purse. Airport security confiscated them and gave her no way to get them back (she offered to pay to have them mailed to the house)...

They were similar to these:
View attachment 230242
It very much annoyed her to lose them as she'd had that particular pair for over 30 years.

That is a bummer. I can relate to the situation. Around 2014 or so I was headed out on a business trip from National Airport in DC. As I dashed from the parking lot into the terminal I suddenly remembered that I'd forgotten to remove a pair of nail scissors from my carry on (my only luggage). Being very short on time, I hit on a solution - there is a little garden area next to the entrance, and I strolled over there and surreptitiously tossed the scissors under a bush. Two days later I returned from California, went back to that bush, and found the scissors right where I'd left them.

 

[Clinton McClure]

I made it back home yesterday evening a bit after 8:00 CST. It took me right at 14 hours to drive there (15 if I figure in the jump from central to eastern time) and the return trip was an hour shorter at 13 hours because traffic was lighter however, I got rained on for 11 of those 13 hours making it a miserable day. On a related note, I discovered a very busy gas station in Mississippi with a men’s room that has two stalls (one without a door and which was occupied when I entered the restroom) and a urinal next to the sink with no divider in between. Had a lovely conversation about the rainy day and how bad the road surfaces are in Jackson, MS with the guy washing his hands while I was relieving myself about a foot away. It reminded me a little of the “pee trough” at Ray Winder Field when I used to go watch Arkansas Travelers baseball in the late 90s.

 

[BobO'Link]

When I was in elementary school, the boy's bathroom had stalls with no doors and a 20' long pee-trough. I hated it and only used it for emergencies... Our house was ~200 feet from the playground with an alley that ran from the drive alongside the playground all the way down the block. During recess, I'd wait until no one was watching and make a b-line down the alley to the house to use the bathroom at home and run back to the playground (early 60s - no one locked their doors - mom was a beautician and worked during school hours so no one was home). If I was ever seen, no one said anything.

 

[Clinton McClure]

This week, I find myself working in Baton Rouge, anticipating Tropical Storm Francine. She’s already projected to be upgraded from a cat 1 to a cat 2 hurricane by the time she makes landfall Wednesday afternoon. Luckily, she appears to be shifting her path west and should track west of Lafayette instead of directly hitting Baton Rouge like they thought earlier today. It’s still gonna be very, very wet and windy. I stopped by Target after work this afternoon and bought some bottled waters, granola bars, trail mix, beer, and a deck of playing cards. You know, the essentials for when you expect to lose power and work from the hotel for a couple of days.

*edited to correct Shreveport to Lafayette. Have no idea why I typed one while I was reading the other on the weather map.

 

[Clinton McClure]

Update: My wife got very ill and I left Baton Rouge around 3AM Tuesday morning so I’m safely back home in central Arkansas. I’ve been too busy to check in until just now while I’m waiting on a pizza.

 

[bmasters9]

Update: My wife got very ill and I left Baton Rouge around 3AM Tuesday morning so I’m safely back home in central Arkansas. I’ve been too busy to check in until just now while I’m waiting on a pizza.

How did your wife get sick (what's her ailment)?

 

[cineMANIAC]

People now appear to be using surgical (formerly known as pandemic) masks as bad breath shields. I see an increasing number of folks just covering their mouths with them. Pretty soon they'll graduate to chin guards lol.