http://www.busdriverjim.com
The Broulim’s sign fell over last April and they’re finally putting a new one up today. Notice the sign to the left: it shows all of the current businesses in our strip mall.
ACE, Family Dollar, Napa, Rusty Nail, Verizon and Cottonwood Dental.
Here’s the actual cause of the sign falling down.
TRPTA vehicle 802 arrived in the valley last Friday, loaded up with our snow tires and an empty gas tank. This morning I met up with Karen and we moved the tires into our backup bus and then I fueled up for tomorrow. That’s Karens head back there. I tossed the tires to her between the back doors and she stacked them up.
I actually didn’t know that my regular bus had a sister. I thought 801 was the only 16 passenger bus we had in the fleet. This one’s got a lot more miles on her but in great shape, and the on-board computer works! I transport more people than anyone else so I guess dispatch got tired of the headaches and swapped the whole bus out instead of trying to fix the computer up here. And, we got our tires up!
Update: I’ve been doing this job too long. This morning when I realized the bus was lifted with an extra step up, I remember driving it here years ago. Sigh, memory going…
I’ve added a new tool to my digital life, the Uniden BCD436HP handheld scanner. As Amazon puts it: "The first scanner to incorporate the HomePatrol-1's ease of use in a traditional handheld scanner. Plus, Uniden's exclusive Close Call RF Capture feature, GPS Connectivity, Extra-Large Display, Radio System Analysis and Discover Modes put the most advanced scanner features ever right in the palm of your hand".
It feels pretty good in my hand actually but won’t spend much time there. I’ll stick it up on my bus console during the workday and on my desk at night, keeping tabs on the happenings around me. Already this morning I’ve been following the adventure of a 4-wheeler rollover up in the foothills with injuries. The inter-county search and rescue operations are pretty impressive.
…and here’s a live view of our neighbor Jackson Wyoming, for the heck of it:
…and as Saturday night unfolds I’m hunkered down in my man cave listening to the world around me while Alexa serenades.
It is truly good to be alive in 2015 and to be able to work and afford the amazing toys our generation provides… (me)
It’s been a stressful week. My onboard computer has been unable to connect to the dispatch center in Idaho Falls, causing me and them, a ton of grief. We haven’t used paper manifest’s for years now and all of my rides appear on the computer we call a Ranger. If the computer connection is broken I don’t know who to pick up that day, and it’s been broken all week.
On some busy days, I have more that 40 individual rides. Most are groups like The Gang and the two Victor schools but a lot of single rides also exist. I’m pretty sure I transport more people daily than anyone in the fleet so it’s not good to be running around blind.
Today they sent the other sixteen passenger bus up to me with a working Ranger. Yey!
Steph’s daughter Melissa just had a baby girl and she’s off to the South tomorrow to hang out with the new baby. Mom and dad look pretty happy here, it’s just too bad that Michael had to sell the right side of his eyeglasses to pay for the whole thing…
I snapped this picture of a bee on a purple flower. Actually, I’m not sure if it’s a flower or a weed, but it’s nice…
Here’s a close-up:
I love my electric blanket, some memory foam, and our cat. They blend together lately in a nightly harmony that makes my sleep interesting. I set the blanket at 8 around eight so it’s nice and cozy when I arrive in bed at 10, and lately I find Piper laying on my spot.
I gently nudge her so I can get into bed and then she gets up and circles around my body, arriving back where she was, and nestles into my body. I don’t even get a chance to reach over and turn the blanket down so I just snuggle into her and go to sleep.
There is something about a warm body laying on top of an electric blanket that makes the underside hot! When I roll over so my stomach is against her back, it’s like a hot iron up against me. It’s the same on my back when I roll over the other way.
We spend the night with me tossing and turning trying to balance this hot burning heat source as she rolls into me with every turn until I finally manage to reach over her and crank the heat down to 3. Have I mentioned I love my cat?
Here’s the dance floor:
Here she is tonight, busted:
This look is: Are you going to turn the light off and come to bed? Yes…
Steph’s got babies popping out all over. Well, not literally from orifices or any such thing, more like new grandkids and nieces. This particular basket with knitted caps and blankets is headed to Washington for her sisters daughter Stasha’s upcoming baby girl.
Her daughter just gave birth to a girl and Steph’s on the way to Tennesee shortly to meet the new grandchild. Her son is also about to become a new father to a girl.
I suspect baby baskets will continue to make the blog for some time…
I was warming my body up in front of the living room heater this afternoon when I spotted these cool lighting effects. This is why I have a camera and a blog…
My latest app Symegry has been evolving nicely, for what it’s worth…
Our Valley is rough on Stop Signs. If they’re not getting rudely, but cutely, defaced (here and here) they’re getting knocked down.
This sign has been on the side of the road at Cottonwood Corner for some time now…
Did you know that Popeye had a bulging eye?
…and the animation preview of the upcoming Popeye movie has the wrong eye!
Spotted this driveway off the Old Jackson Highway today. It’s right by the cities main water supply well and leads to a very interesting set of buildings back in the woods.
Click on the Bing Map below and follow the road up to the right.
I only had six pre-schoolers going to the gym today and normally I have a dozen. The amount of cuteness from this bunch more than made up for the lack of quantity. They really love riding the bus and the experiences gained on these weekly trips should serve them well. Click on the little mug below to see more:
This little display is sitting on the Calderwood’s lawn down in Victor. Big city folks may attempt something like this, but Clint borrowed the hay from his horses to put it together.
