It's about time...

I suppose I better write something in here since it's been over a year since I messed around with this.

What I did on my summer vacation...

I'm on vacation this week, but I'm not sure what that means. I'm all the time driving around in the big truck going somewhere, and it doesnt make much sense to me to do the same thing when I'm supposedly on vacation. I'd rather just hang around home.

Was on vacation last week, too, but I decided to do a run to Kentucky and back last Thursday. Figured I'd do that because we contracted to get wireless high speed internet here in August, and with 5 computers in the house (we must be nerds or geeks or something), I'm going to have to buy some hardware to get all 5 going, and that run would pay for everything. Well, the A/C didn't work when I left home, and I'm real spoiled (my idea of a job is "no sweat...") so I stopped at Walmart in Charlotte, MI on the way down and got 4 cans of freon & recharged it. OK, great, now it's blowing cold. But I also noticed that the main belt on that 500 ISX Cummins - the one off the crank that drives the fan, water pump & also the pulley that drives the other belt for the alternator, A/C compressor, etc., was showing some wear on the inside edge. Well, I closed the hood and called the shop up at the yard to get my oil change done and get that belt changed when I get back up there.

Got the Kentucky load off & got dispatched to Cincinnati to grab a load back to Michigan. Got loaded in Cincinnati, and wouldn't you know it - I get back up on the "big slab" and a whole bunch of "idiot lights" light up and the water temp is climbing. I also realized my "no sweat" job isn't the same, 'cause my A/C isn't working. Yup, you probably guessed it, I threw that belt. Well, a few hours and $425 later, I pulled off the shoulder & back on the road again. Pretty expensive belt, wasn't it? Even though it's not my truck (I gave up that "my truck" business back in '93), it still bugs me. I run that truck like it's still by truck, and I don't like breakdowns. Guess I'll talk to the bossman when I get back to the office about getting things replaced before stuff like this happens. He does listen what I have to say. I ain't a normal company driver, & he knows it. I've been on both sides of the fence with this company, about 18 years worth.

I thought about doing the same run today (Thursday), but I think I might be jinxed trying to work during my paid vacation. Walked out of the house Monday to crank the truck & bring it up to the yard to get the service done, but nothing but "click, click, etc". Checked the batteries and everything's tight. Got up underneath and checked the starter. Everything's tight down there, too. Called the yard & told them ya better order 4 batteries for this truck, too. I guess I'll just hang around home & not press my luck. My wife Patty didn't want me to do that run last week - maybe she sensed something or maybe she likes me hanging around home. I'm back off vacation next week, but the week following, I'm back on vacation for another week. OK, I'll go on to another topic...

It's about Pulling now...

We haven't been pulling much in 2006. Just Saline, MI with MTPA and the Leslie Tractor Pullers' Michigan State University Ag Expo pull yesterday in E. Lansing. Had a really nice time there. I knew about the 3 hook limit. I figured we'd hook 5500, 6000 & 6500, and told Andrew I'd hook the 5500 in the 3rd gear to see if my little red 50's up to it. Went to register, but no 6000, & didn't bring enough weights for 7500. Don Woods said whatever weights I needed I could use his. Lynn Garber said the same thing, but he couldn't stick around for the 7500 'cause he had some farmin' to do. So, OK, now that's taken care of, and I asked Andrew if he wants me to still pull 5500 or instead run 7500. He said "I'd like you to run the 7500, and I'll hook the 5500 - and I'll do it in 3rd gear". I thought he might change his mind about the gear thing, and that'll be his decision to make. Well, I'm down at the end of the track and he hooks to the Neapass sled & here he comes. I knew where Lynn's 1st place mark near the end of the track was, and later on in the class Jared Buduhn was the only one to come close to him. Figured Andrew had his work cut out for him. At about 50 feet or so I ain't heard any speeding horn yet. Figured he must be in 2nd, and I walked toward him so I could here the motor. Hmmm, he's only runnin' about half throttle, he must be in 3rd. Walked back to where Lynn & Warren Townsend were standing & said "Andrew's in 3rd". About 30 feet from the full pull mark, Lynn nudges me & says "Andrew's gonna do it". I laughed & said "I don't know about that, you said the same thing at Sandusky last year, & he didn't". Well he spun 'er out on a full pull, and never hit the horn all the way down. Well, I was just real happy about that - that was a real nice piece of drivin'. He took it out back and got it weighted up for 6500, came back & said "I'm runnin' 3rd again. He stalled 'er out this time and the tractor was hookin' good. Now we're both wondering if he might have won the class in 2nd gear instead. Now it's my turn. I gave Andrew the camera, and I took it out back to get ready for the 7500. On rare occasions when when we pull @ 7500, we also use wheel weights. We didn't have 'em with us this time. So I hung Don's weights wherever I could, and not exactly where I wanted 'em. Was barely able to get up to 7500 - not enough hangers. Well, I'm here to have a good time. We'll see what happens. I was the last to hook in the class. Didn't know how far I needed to go, but I'll do the best I can. I spun 'er out. Figured I did OK, but nothing to get excited about. Didn't know until after the pull was over that I'd won that class, by about 20 feet or something like that.

I think the next pull we'll be at is the St. Clair County Fair at Goodells, MI the 1st part of August. After that, I'm not sure. But Tony & Charlie Capozzo gave us flyers of the November NATPA Sandusky, MI pull. Told them we'd be there...

Pictures...

We took 214 pictures at that MSU pull, garden tractor pullers included. That was a 3-track pull, and it was a real trip runnin' back and forth between 3 tracks taking pictures. And you know, I didn't get run over once, although I might have come close a few times. Hooked the camera up to the computer when we got home. A few pictures got cropped because I didn't zoom out quick enough, but other than that they all look pretty good. The earlier pictures are the best because the sun was behind me. The colors really come alive that way. Ain't much I can do about where the sun is in the sky later on. And I'd suppose they'd lock me up somewhere if I told them "The sun ain't where I need it, I need you to move all 3 tracks sideways now".

There was a remark made yesterday concerning the pictures on the site. I'm certain it was done "tongue in cheek" since I consider him a friend and we're all the time kinda picking at each other just for fun or something to do to liven things up a little. Alot of pictures on the site aren't good enough to be up there. And now with this new camera, Sigourney wasn't the ideal place to make a 1st run with it. And the owners manual was a waste of ink. I talked to Sherry Linville on the phone a while back, and we talked about this picture thing. She said Barry Linville bought a new camera recently, or something like that, and he's going through the same thing I am. I had to toss out about half the pictures I took there, and most of the ones that made it up on the site aren't that good. I've even thought about deleting alot of the pictures from the site. But the minute I do that, I'll start getting critical emails or posts asking me why I did that. I think I'm in a "no win" situation. The other 2 pulls taken with this new camera - Saline, MI in June and that MSU pull yesterday - turned out really nice. I think the indoor pulls will always be a problem, unless I'm allowed to get up close to the track to utilize the intense flash mode this camera has, and not to make the 2 same camera setting mistakes at Sigourney. And why it took me so long to get the Sigourney pictures up, other than that crazy time-consuming trucking job I have? It took ALOT of time to try and clear up and reduce in size the ones that are up there now, and even then I don't think the results were worth the time, and the resulting drive to get them up as quick as I could went right in the tank...

I guess that's about it for now

Keep the shiny side up...

Jerry