Overcoming type 2 Diabetes

Hi all,

I know it's been a long time since I wrote here, I have been busy with other writing projects, and moving, and making a living. Writing is just a hobby for me to kill those long hours waiting on dispatches, receivers or on a reset like I am today.

At any rate one of those writing projects is done and now available on Kindle. You can get it here:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B012Y7JLRE?*Version*=1&*entries*=0

This book is a short 42 page book that outlines my struggles and victories over this disease which is so common in our industry.

If you know anyone that has been diagnosed with this disease I would (and they would) appreciate your passing this book on to them.

If you prefer a printed edition, that is also available on Amazon or Createspace or just go down to your local bookstore and ask them to order it for you.

I have been winning the battle against type 2 Diabetes for about four years now by using this simple diet based method and felt that many more could benefit from my experience. I believe that most Type 2's will benefit from this simple to implement, life changing, method.

Keep the rubber side down and until next time God Bless.

PS you can also like to my Author Page on Face Book here:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Leslie-Auger/1642899265924230

Make it Hot... To Go!

I do love my  Road Pro Portable Oven.

The Picture shows a lentil chili I made for dinner. Half a cup of dry lentils, half a package of chili seasoning, half an onion, a can of diced tomatoes and about 4 ounces of shredded roast beef plus about half a cup of water. I put all of that in the bread tray the put it into the oven, plugged it in, and headed down the road. About an hour later I had to pull over and eat it cause the smell was making me hungry!

I don't get paid for endorsements like this one and if you would like to encourage me to keep writing then buy my book, "So, You Want To Be A Truck Driver". or my other one "Ten Commandments a Guide to Holiness".
At the very least like my Face Book Author page, please.

Enough advertisement!

The company I currently work for doesn't allow inverters installed since they think their little 1500 watt inverter will run a microwave and the environmental air, so the portable oven has been a Godsend for me.

Pictured on the right is my average breakfast (when I don't oversleep). It is made of 3/4 cup rolled oats with about a cup of almond milk made overnight by adding the liquid and letting it sit. I did make my eggs in the portable oven by lining the bread pan with foil then adding two eggs whipped with about a quarter cup of water, poured onto onion and bell pepper, plugged it in for about 20 minuets and presto, scrambled eggs. I did find that adding about half a cup of water into the oven under the bread pan does speed up the cooking of any item, but be careful when you open it that you don't get a steam burn.

I have cooked potatoes by wrapping them like I would for a conventional oven and putting them directly into the portable oven. I have had better results by adding water to the bottom half of the oven and then putting in the bread pan and the potatoes in the pan. It take about an hour to hour and a half and the way I deal with the time issue is to put them in at one of my stops then plug the oven in about and hour or so before I stop for that meal.

I have steamed broccoli in the same way I cook potatoes, takes about 20 to 30 minuets.

I like hot meals and with this cool little item I get to eat fresh and hot while on the go.

Keep the rubber side down.

Les

Minimum Wage? For Who?

Hi all, been thinking and getting a bit pissed, so thought I would vent here.

Ever since I heard that President Obama by Presidential order granted Federal Employees a minimum wage of $10.75 an hour I have been pissed. I am pissed that he and his cronies believe they can pressure the Congress into passing a similar minimum wage bill for private employees by such a stupid move. It's stupid because everyone knows their are so few minimum wage jobs in the Federal Government that it was a nothing action. Its only purpose was to start an outcry by the uneducated masses to put pressure on Congress to act in a way that would be very bad for this country.

Why is a minimum wage of $10.75 an hour bad for this country?

Answer : higher cost equals higher prices, and that's inflation, period. Sorry, money doesn't just fall out of the sky.

And, guess what, truckers are not covered by the minimum wage law.

In fact our wages have been the most depressed wages of any industry. Twenty years ago when I started driving truck I was making 28 cents per mile, today I am making 28 cents per mile plus 7 cents per mile per diem which means I am taking home more actual money but 7 cents per mile of that is subsidized by all of the rest of you tax payers. Now here is the real rub, 20 years ago the average cost of a house was $113,000 today it is $311,400 and that kind of inflation holds true for everything from cigarettes, to food, to cars, to; well you name it, you get the picture.

Last year I made about $40,000. That means I drove 114,285 miles at an average speed of approximately 55 mph. That means I spent 2,077 hours behind the wheel at an average of  $19.25 per hour.

Sounds pretty good to the guy or gal flipping burgers at Mcdonalds right? Twice the wage they are making, but if I got this figured right I spent 259 days on the road. Now that means there was 4144 hours I was not paid for but had to remain at work and because I eat and sleep at my work place and since I am responsible for that load even while not performing my job, meaning driving, that means the real hours at work was 6, 221. Divide that into $40,000 and the real wage is $6.42 per hour. Minimum wage is currently $7.25 an hour, hmmmm.

But it gets even worse; since the FMCSA didn't take the forethought to require resets be done at the driver's home, I spent at least another 15 periods of  34 hours parked somewhere other than home, and was still responsible for my employer's truck and trailer, and still not getting paid. This now gives us a total of 6,731 hours at work for a real wage of  $5.95 per hour.

And I havn't even added up the extra cost of living in a truck and having a wife and kids; it's like having two separate homes. Nor have I deducted the payroll taxes which amount to around 35%.

So you still think you want to be a truck driver and earn those big bucks the school recruiters promise??? Better buy my book and find out about the other drawbacks to this lifestyle, you can get it by clicking HERE.

Screwed

Last night I had spent just about an hour reading posts on an article about a report submitted to congress concerning updates on the HOS made last July. Congress wanted to know if the changes had any effect in improving safety and reducing drowsy driving. The report congress wanted and the report they got where two different things.

The sample of drivers was way to small to indicate anything except what the FMCSA wanted and less than 33% of the sample where over-the-road drivers.

The goverment will never be able to legislate away drowsy driving for the professional as long as they want to deal with only one small part of the whole picture. Here are some more factors for them to legislate if they can:

1. Shippers and Recivers.
This is an area that needs the most legislation. When you arrive for an appointment an hour early and six hours later your finally loaded, that's a problem. It's a problem because you can't rest or sleep during your wait because if you miss your call you won't get loaded until much later, then everyone is pissed at you, so you start your trip tired and angry.

2. Safe and Accessible parking
This is a huge problem and getting worse every year. More and more townships are outlawing truck parking.

3. Drivers Diet
I am not saying they need to legislate what we eat, that would be crossing the line far more than what they already have.

Take a look at the photo that is with this blog, this one shelf is the entire selection of groceries in a popular chain truck stop.

It is a well known fact that a diet rich in fat, sugar and flower adds to poor health and a state of perpetual drowsiness.

The other choices in this truck stop are preprepared foods that are several times reasonable cost and very few of those choices have any nutritional value. Or you could choose from one of the 3 fast food resturants.

We have to eat and the Corperate desire for profit has crossed into the area of greed and is out of control. The truck stops know they have a captive audience and they abuse it.

So, as usual, our wonderful goverment has once again screwed the working man by blaming him and burdening him with more regulation that restricts his income and the choices he can make while ignoring all the other factors that go into the problem they are trying to solve.

If you know some young person considering becoming a truck driver, buy them a copy of my book,"So, You Want To Be A Truck Driver" if I can't scare em off no one can. Get it here:

http://augerles.wix.com4/be-a-truck-driver

Spoiled

Boy,am I getting spoiled on this job.

The company that I now work for uses new Volvo Power units and just like the cars Volvo makes, this thing drives like a dream. Its got all kinds of bells and whistles including an automatic 12 speed transmission that really works!

That having been said, the living space, (ie sleeper) sucks. The cabinets are too small and of the wrong size to fit anything. The lighting sucks and even if I was allowed to have my inverter installed there would be no place to put my microwave, so back to cold meals and buying coffee.

Talking about getting back to things, I've had to get back to basics on my food plan. Picked up over 40 lbs in the last 6 months. It really is easy to decive ones self and think "awe this little bit extra won't hurt", and maybe once in a while it doesn't. But, when the once in a while turns into everyday, well that's a problem.

I did see my Doc just before going back to work and was glad to find out that even with the weight gain my diabetes hasn't raised its ugly head but my cholesterol did take a significant jump up to 208, yep back to basics.

So once again I will publish my basic food plan for those that haven't seen it before:

Breakfast :
1/2 cup oatmeal with 1 cup unsweetened almond milk, 6 ounces lean protein and a piece of fruit.

Lunch and Dinner:
6 ounces of lean protein,  2 cups salad mix with Italin dressing, 1 cup green vegtable and a piece of fruit.

2 snacks allowed of 3 oz. of protein or a piece of fruit. Keep meals about 4 to 6 hours apart. And ladies cut the meal protein down to 4 oz. for best results.

Finally if you know someone who thinks they want to join us out here on the highways, and you cant scare them off, then buy them a copy of my book, "So, You Want to Be a Truck Driver"
and maybe I can.

Blackballed!

Hi all,

Have you every heard of someone being "Blackballed"? Do you know what that term means? I didn't, but I have been using the term to describe something I have been finding in our industry during this job search. I had also been exposed to something similar earlier in my career.

According to Wikapedia, Blackballing describes a voting procedure that was common in Gentleman Clubs of the Victorian Age. It was a procedure used to vote in a new member. It only took one black ball in the ballot box to exclude the initiate. If you sponsored that initiate and they were blackballed, you would then suffer the same fate as the blackballed person. In this procedure fairness and explanations played no part, if you pissed one person off you could be blackballed.

In our industry (trucking) I have found there are two entities who are likely to "cast" you the black ball if you are trying to get a new job. The first is the Safety Dept. of your previous job and the second is (and the most likely) the Insurance Company of the job you want.

If you have been fired from your previous company for anything safety related you will be blackballed from many companies, period. The period of blackballing will last from 3 months to 5 years. And, it doesn't matter what your CSA score is or how much experience you have. With some companies just being fired for any reason is enough to get you blackballed.

I believe, though I can't prove it, I was blackballed from flatbed companies after I had gotten hurt while working for flatbed company in California. After that job, I could not get hired on with a flatbed company for a period of seven years and I am one of those fools who actually like "throwing rags". I began to get suspicious when one employer was all hot to hire me, then after the DAC was pulled, they wouldn't even answer the phone when I called. I pulled my own DAC and saw absolutely NO bad information on my "Consumer Report". After being turned down by a few more flatbed companies for no good reason, I gave up and went to work for JB Hunt for 6 months,(6 months too long).

There is another thing that can get you blackballed, take six months off of work and your blackballed from many companies.

I understand the companies have a great deal to lose if they hire the wrong guy, but when someone such as myself with 20+ years of experience, a clean MVR (Motor Vehicle Record) and a great CSA score knocks on your door at lest take the time to find out what happened and judge it in light of the aforementioned data not the data that some statistical genius in an ivory tower somewhere that's never even seen the inside of a truck has come up with.

Here is one of the things that is really wrong with this system. Dispatchers and Safety Directors know how this system works better than the average driver and will sometimes use the system to "burn" a driver they didn't like. It can be very time consuming and expensive to correct false data on your DAC, (the main tool used for blackballing) and the companies have little to fear in the form of reprisals if they get caught doing it.

Bottom line is, if you like driving truck for a living always be professional and realize it only takes one slip up to get blackballed.

Keep the rubber side down. God bless

Please comment, especially if you have ever been blackballed.

Leslie R Auger has driven truck for more than 20 years. He has written a book for the want-to-be truck driver called, "So, You Want to Be A Truck Driver", You can get it here by clicking on the title or visit his website at So, You Want To Be A Truck Driver? | Wix.com

Bluetooth Headsets

 Hi all,  

It's been  two years now since the Hand Free law for commercial drivers went into effect. In those two years, I have gone through two bluetooth headsets. Recently I have noticed more and more drivers NOT using their hands-free devices while driving. 

    Guys and gals, they haven't changed the law. It's still a crime to use your handset and it will cost you dearly if you are cited.

That being said, I will admit there have been times when I too have violated the law. Not because I wanted to, but because the d*#n headset I currently own does not live up to it's billing. 

I currently have a Plantronics Voyager (top photo). I am satisfied with it as far as performance is concerned. The noise canceling works extremely well and I have had no problem with hearing as long as I have it placed in my ear right. Where the problem lies is the amount of time on the battery and the screwy time remaining messages. It is extremely annoying when the message comes on and say's "Four Hours Remaining", then two minuets later you get the message "Charge Headset". Even if you don't make any calls, the 10 hour standby is only good for about 6 hours and the 6 hour talk time is a myth; it's more like 3 hours. One more complaint is the use of the micro USB plug on the charger; it's just too much of a distraction to try to plug it in while driving and the cord is way to short to be plugged in to the charger while in use.

With all that said, it is still far better than the Nokia I had before (middle photo). I got rid of the Nokia within a week of getting it because people I called said it sounded like I was talking down a tube and others complained it sounded like sandpaper in the background. Granted the sand paper sound was probably my beard, but why should I have to cut my beard to use my phone?

As I have not been very happy with either of the two headsets I have used, it is still better than a $1200 fine and the loss of my job, so use them I do.

The last photo is the headset I hope to buy sometime this year. It is the Roadwarrior Bluetooth by Blue Parrott. I have asked many drivers that own one and not one single driver had any complaints. It boasts having the loudest volume and 16 hours of talk time. I am not sure I like the over-the-head design but am willing to give it a try. I do like the long mic boom as mic placement is sometimes a problem with the behind the mouth mic designs. This headset is a bit more pricey than the other two, coming in around $120.00 retail and that is the primary reason I have not bought it already.

Keep the rubber side down. 

Thank-you

Got something to say, please comment.

Your Fired!

Words no one wants to hear..."You're Fired!"

Well on Dec 10 2013 I got to hear those words for the first time in 10 years or so, and like then it wasn't unexpected.

Like ten years ago, my firing was due to an accident. Unlike, back then, someone did get hurt and man do I feel bad.

When you drive truck for a living accidents are something you do your best to avoid but lets face facts they do happen. All it takes is a split second of inattention, a wrong assumption, a misunderstanding, someone else's mistake, truth is when your a big boy or girl playing with big toys, at high speeds it is inevitable at some point in time you will have an accident. Mine was a misunderstanding between the loader and myself, he got hurt, he could have been killed, in which case I would have been jailed for manslaughter, so I thank my God that a few broken ribs and a broken collar bone was all that happened.

But that is not what I really want to write about today, it's the aftermath of being fired and trying to find a new job, that I want to focus on.

Our industry has become super sensitive to safety issues and being fired for an accident has some very serious consequences. Let's start with the CSA score.

Having a high personal CSA score (get yours here) will cause you some very serious problems because that is one of the first things prospective employers are going to look at. I have found out that being fired will in fact cut your prospective employers by at least one third. Many of the big carriers have told me that I would have to work for someone else from 6 months to 3 years before they would even consider me, even some of the not so big carriers have this policy. Oh, yeah, just being fired will do this, it doesn't have to be for a safety related issue.

If you have ever been fired then I don't need to tell you what it feels like. In short it feels like you have let your family down, like the word worthless is tattooed all over your body for everyone to see. It shakes your confidence in who you are and what you do right down to the foundation of your soul. So, what are you going to do, sit in the mire of self pity or get off your butt and find work.

Honesty, is going to be of great help in finding work, don't think for one second you can get away with a lie or omission with a prospective employer, remember CSA and DAC and don't forget your previous employers MUST be contacted before you can even be considered. Be courteous to the employers, it does cost them time and money to do this research so let them know up front if there are any problems and let them decide if they are willing to spend that time and money.

Finding a job is just like sales, most times it's a numbers game. Getting leads and tons of them is critically important. I have found the internet extremely valuable in this regard and it has gotten much better in just this past year for finding leads. My first application was placed on Layover.com this resulted in about 80 e-mails and 20 phone calls from prospective employers. My second app was placed on CAD and my app was sent to 28 employers and resulted in 5 phone calls with about 30 e-mails. My wife also helped by finding other employers to apply to while I was filling out online applications and taking calls.

The result of these massive numbers is that I am scheduled to begin orientation, January 6 and I still have many more people to talk to before then who may offer me a better deal. Believe me, my self esteem has recovered.

Bottom line don't let those words get you down. Just get it in gear, and plow forward.

PS. I could really use the money right now so please if you haven't checked out the book I wrote go and buy it NOW, please. Buy a dozen to pass out to those curious young people that think trucking is so cool. You can find it here http://augerles.wix.com/be-a-truck-driver.