Running with JCT, Part Deux

Well, today is the first time I have been embarrassed to be with JCT. Showed up to the consignee and there was another JCT truck here. Guy gets out is wearing a dirty T-shirt, sweat pants, and flip flops (shower shoes), and ungroomed.

I may wear t-shirts from time to time, but they are clean, I don't wear sweat pants (don't even have them in the truck), and I wear my work boots. And I keep my beard trimmed and hair combed.

 

Quick question. What do you do with pallets that are put back on the trailer? Never had to deal with pallets. Thanks.

 

Sorry. Taking a bit of a snooze. BUUUURRRRPPP!! Sorry. Uncle Clyde got me hammered . . . AGAIN!! I'm back to normal (if there really IS such a a thing)Aminal again. Did I miss anything?

Ooooo!!! :smt071:smt072. Oh My, my. OH Hell yes; You gotta put on that party dress!! Buy me a drink; sing me a song; take me as I [am] cause I can't stay long. Produce is OUT THE FIELD AND IN THE COOLERS!!! Meat is still strong and the canneries are FIRING UP!! YAHOOOOO!!!! March is in the rear view and it's time to SHAKE SOME REEFER FREIGHT Baby!!.

Ahem: Ladies and Germs, what our esteemed colleagues are differentiating on is the principle of Cash Flow (and whether as simply 1099's we are true independent contractors or company ((W-2)) employees and JCT has that WELL worked out in ALL 20 tests the IRS and USDOL Wage and Hour uses to make that determination - we are Independent 1099 Contractors; though I DO admit SOME green DM's can get a tad pushy about break times if you run tight - til they get woke up about how they cant do that to us IC's). Cash Flow is the LIFE BLOOD of ANY Business. Hell, Cash Flow is the life blood of a company employee. Hell. All our human blood (or in my case mixed species - but I AM STILL an organic Mammal) should be green, not red; since THAT is how we all survive now-a-days. We trade money for the stuff we need to survive. I mean unless you are a full fledged member of some cult . . . on a farm in the middle of Montana . . . in which case DONT drink the Kool-Aid and when you hear the words: "FEDERAL AGENTS! WE HAVE YOU SURROUNDED!! COME OUT WITH YOUR HANDS UP OR WE'LL OPEN FIRE!!" For GOD's SAKE just come out wit you freakin' hands up. Whassa prolem wit dat? Dey gonna give da wimmins and chilluns a pass on bein nutzo. Just let'em do it. Trust me Resistance to THAT Borg IS futile and WONT end well for ya!!

Sorry. I digress. Side-bar to the side bar; Don't EVER let your Big Brother talk you into doin' Boilermaker shots with Steele Reserve and Everclear (is that stuff still even Legal?!)!! It is just plain Dangerous. Plus it leaves you foggy for days. No, not A day, D-A-Y-S days!! Bad Mojo FO SHO!!

Seriously, though. The basic argument revolves around Business Cash Flow. Some Business are structured to have heavier expense to revenue ratios than others. Some have less expense and need less revenue to make for a solid profitable revenue stream that meets its needs. Some need more, which naturally incurs more expense to generate, but the gross numbers are still good IF they are maintaining solid cost control of what they CAN control. Its the Werner vs. Tommy Trucking models. Werner's published OR (Operating Ratio - which is for every dollar in revenue you took in, you spent so many cents to get it) is only 98, Swift was 97, all the big boys are in the high 90's. That means Werner et al, spent 98 (or whatever) cents for every dollar of revenue they generated. That's a 2% profit. How can they survive on that? VOLUME. MAX REVENUE and thousands of trucks and pinching every penny in fuel they can. A 2% profit on Tommy One Truck = BANCKRUPTCY. A 2% Profit on thousands of trucks turning tens of thousands of freight miles a day is a pretty healthy cash flow. Plus about a zillion OTHER ways they make money, like selling trucks, for profit shops for their Owner Ops, Brokerage and Logistics etc.

So, As Tommy One Trucks, WE gotta think; What Cash Flow do WE need as individuals to make what we need to trade electronic greenbacks for groceries on our families' tables and what do we want next month, next quarter, next year and in five years? Danged sure can't do THAT on 2% of 170K gross, right? So, here is a novel concept. It's a little idea I been working on just because I feel like picking a fight w/ Kevin Rutherford, which I will take to HIS ring as a courtesy. What if you did both? Hmmm? What if you pulled Steel's MPG and profit per mile mindset (which is similar to the Kevin Rutherford Model) TOGETHER with the other guys' about more miles (which is actual Cash Flow, which is similar to the Mega-Carrier Model)? Sounds like higher profit per mile AND more miles. When you want them. Hmmm. Interesting concept. I think it bears exploration.

Me? I split the middle. Planning has FINALLY figured out that I run 60 (that is the sweet spot on MY Darla's spec as she's running NOW at 58K on the odo) AND they are getting me a fairly consistent 3K in miles. 2900-3200. I purchase what fuel I need from WHEREVER it is the least expense to me and throughout the winter I haven't been doing the rolling stock inventory fuel purchasing. My personal Cash Flow needs during winter are about 30% higher than warm weather so I only purchase what I need to make that trip and end up with enough to get me going to my next run and plan it all over again from there. I do the rolling stock inventory fuel plan when it's warm and my personal Cash Flow needs are less. I turn in all my trips as I do them. Not for business reasons. Well, kinda. It's because I'm a scatter brain (which I'm sure you all figured out by now) and I don't want to lose the BOL's. That simple. I don't want to lose the paperwork that gets me paid so I get it to them ASAP. TripPack Box is free so that is my primary. I came up in a day before all this electronic stuff and we were POUNDED on from day ONE that a signed BOL or POD (Proof Of Delivery) was The ONLY way ANYONE got paid and you better treat it like cash and guard it and get it in the bank (to the company) ASA efen P cause if you lost it none of us got paid. Not the company and not the driver. This electronic stuff is great, and I have learned to take advantage of the advantages when I need to but I just can NOT get past the fact that I MUST get POD to the company that will pay me for that load ASAP. It's hardwired in me. Any advantages to holding trips, etc are completely lost on me cause it simply is NOT in me to be able to hold a trip, any more than it is in me to be able to ride a four wheeler's bumper and blow the horn and "push it" outta my way. I totally get that some now can (the former but hopefully never the latter) cause times have changed, but I'm just not there yet. I'll deal with the pay ups and downs like I have all these years. To me its no biggie. There's ways to get what you need for cash flow if you have a bad week. Just gotta use them sparingly and wisely. Late Trips and Cash Advances are two examples. Again; Sparingly, Wisely and only when an unexpected cash flow crunch slams ya.

It's all about the Flow. Truck Driving is Simple. Plain CRAZY Simple. All we do is manage the Flow of Energy. All matter is composed of atoms. All atoms have electrons and protons swirling about them. Different atoms bond to other atoms and make molecules of interconnected swirling and now FLOWING protons and electrons. The protons tend to pair up and aid in bonding. The electrons are freer to move amongst each other and - flow to wherever the protons tend to suggest they might need to go. They don't have to, they just tend to. Sort of like "drawn to" but easily side tracked and just going with a certain "flow" of their own. Like Aminal. LOL. Those molecules bond to other molecules and make compounds - of flowing electrons. Those molecules bond to form complex molecules that then differentiate and specialize to form entire THINGS of - flowing electrons. Deer, Elk, Antelope, trees, rocks, bushes, concrete, asphalt, metal, electricity, humans - EVERYTHING in this plane of existence is the amalgam of a series of - FLOWING ELECTRONS around whatever complex molecular structure they wound up part of. Still just - FLOWING ELECTRONS at the base of it all, though. All WE do is manage the FLOW of all things to accommodate the space we need, when we need it, so we don't collide with other flowing electron composites and we do it in a way that suits us to make big things move from point A to point B in a certain time frame. Which is the challenge.

Time is the challenge because time does not exist. It is not a THING. There is no space time continuum because time does not exist. There is no God Particle; Higgs Boson will continue to be a failure because time and that which they seek does not exist. It is not real. It is not matter. It has no tangibility or mass or density or volume. It is a THEORY and simply a measurement of movement. Time is simply something humans invented to measure movement before we knew much about velocity and a whole bunch of other really heavy deep $#!+. Good luck trying to convince any DM or customer or anyone else of that, but there you have it as a DRVER. All you have to do is manage the FLOW of ALL things to move YOUR thing to where it's supposed to be in the measurement of movement known as Time that it is supposed to be there.

Think about THAT next time you are in traffic or running or planning or - wondering how to divvy up your settlement net. It's ALL about . . .

Managing the FLOW

It's what we do.

Oh. Big Bro is getting SUCH a beat down for this one. Me head hurts. Me is going BACK to bed cause I gots a 'livery sometime tomorrow . . .

Edit: Just checked the Qualcomm, as I been a little distracted; 09:00??!! Waaaaaaaa!!!

 

Animal, that was good, I tip my hat to you. You know even Kevin Rutherford says that model really only works when fuel is very high, but some people can't change their driving habits to conform to the lower fuel, and the savings when the fuel is low is minimal compared to what you can make with more miles, and that's what confuses me. But everyone has to do what they are comfortable doing I guess.
Personally I track the fuel through my route to my destination and if I know I'm heading into a area with higher fuel and there's a place with cheaper fuel along the way I'll fill up on the cheaper fuel, Flying J/Pilot in some areas is cheaper, but not always, and that's why I don't limit myself to just them, sure you get all those PERKS, but most of the time the PERK is coming right out your pocket with that expensive FUEL, I've found some good spots for fuel and when the stars aren't lined up for me then I have to get that high fuel and I will goto Flying J/Pilot.
But that was a insightful read. I can't hold a Trip back either, the money all goes to the same account and the deductions are all the same even the fuel will come off the next trip if you don't turn in the trip you purchased it on, so I don't understand that either, but some things I'll never understand 🚛💨💨👋✌

 

C12H23 = the base for most Diesels. C6H12O6 = the base for most Sugars. C2H6OH = the base for most Ethyl Alcohols (the good stuff - the kind you get to enjoy - IN MODERATION - Clyde and Big Bro!!). C8H10N4O2 = the base for most Caffeines (my personal mea culpa maxima). Whole BUNCH of flowing electrons of hydrocarbons, huh?

Now; add the Carbons and you get C28. Add the Hydrogens and you get H51. Add the Oxygens and you get O2. Sooo.... you make C28H51O2 and you got the common denominator for the ultimate Trucker fuel. Diesel, Sugar, Alcohol and Caffeine!

Sept for them pesky free floatin' 4 Nitrogen radicals.You got 4 free radical Nitrogens floating around with nothing to do. What to do with them? What do we ALWAYS do with ALL Free Radicals?

I know!! BURN 'EM!! Ain't that what the DEF and high heat regen is supposed to do? Burn off the excess Nitrogen to get the emission more eco-friendly! Use Nitrogen to burn Nitrogen and a bit of Diesel Sugar with it too. Seems to be our Society's answer to most Free Radicals (stretch the neurons Folks) is . . . BURN 'EM!! We LOVES the THERMO in THERMO-Kinetic Dynamics. Yup, yup, YUP! We sure do. Reducing friction is Cool, like as in drag friction on wind and rolling resistance, but don't talk about not burnin' somethin' to move somethin'. So-Ci-Ety or a truck. That's , well that's . . . Heresy By Golly!!!

Edit; Oh. We were talking about profitability. We each have individual business and individual needs. We didn't jump on this freighter to pleasure ourselves (be NICE). We EACH jumped on it to make our electric duckies OUR way, according to each and every one of us's different needs, likes, desires, hopes, aspirations and [Dare We?] D-R-E-A-M. It is SOOOOOOOOO easy to fall into traps they lay for US (all lease Ops, not just our Brotherhood). Do it THIS way. Do It THAT way and above all else; do it MY way cause MY way is the True Highway.

Quick questions: How many roads are there to Rome? Quick answer: As many as there are travelers going TO Rome. Q. Which road is the RIGHT road to Rome? A. The one you're on if you are content with the OVERALL Journey. Afterall . . . it is the JOURNEY that matters. Not the destination. Right? If the Journey is unfavorable to you; you must choose another road . . . if it is favorable to you; then you are on the right road,

You either flow the electrons well . . . or you change the direction of the flow. Works different ways for different folks.

DANGED!! Sounds a LOT like Truck Driving . . . and life.

How 'Bout THAT? Go Figure? Hmmmmmmmmmmm

 

Yep....spring is in the air. Haven't even made it to the first drop yet and already have a pretty plan on me. Love it!!

 

Yep I'm planned all the way to Thursday I'm digging it.

 

Yeah. Surprised the hell out me. I'm still have 600 miles to my first drop in Cheyenne, WY tomorrow then over to North Platte, NE for the day after tomorrow.

 

Nobody answered??

Call the pallet desk. X6689 or 6690 or just call your your DM. They'll (should) tell you where to take them. I say should because I got an idiot DM once that copped an attitude with me when I asked where to drop some pallets. He was useless so I ended up handling it on my own. I figure you (JCT) help me out or I'll take care of the issue myself.

 

Accidentally got 9.1 mpg I put in no effort, just a light load and full throttle, and finally planned until next Friday 🚛💨💨👋✌🙌