You might like this YouTube channel:

https://youtube.com/@edisonmotors?si=_O5hmnkl56oarlx6

Canadian trucker with a mindset like your friends dad, but also is building trucks that is in my opinion the way forward for the trucking industry. Got to bounce, load to move.

The trucking industry has a very long tail when it comes to equipment. Big trucking companies (100 plus trucks) generally replace their equipment every 3 to 5 years. Smaller companies (10 to 100 trucks) often buy a mix of new and used equipment with an average age somewhere in the 5 to 10 year old range. Then you have the majority of the trucking industry who buy whatever makes financial sense to them at that moment in time and then run it till they can no longer get parts or they hang up the keys. The latter being more common.

As I was writing this a cab over Kenworth drove by the dock I’m currently parked at. They haven’t been made since the late 80’s, I think. Once the tech is available, then a 10 to 20 year time frame makes sense and will see some 90% to 98% of the old trucks replaced.

I can’t believe I saying something nice about CARB, but they don’t usually operate like that. They were given the mandate of making California’s air clean again. They have their lane and they stick to it and fuck all what anyone else thinks of it or the consequences. I have had major bones to pick with them over the years I’ve been driving professionally, but that’s not one of them.

It’s not so much that we don’t want to as much as it is that the equipment needed doesn’t exist and neither does the required infrastructure, which is the bigger problem. Add to that the fact that most truck “companies” in the US have less than 10 truck and they were usually bought used…
That said their is one company I’m watching that does seem to actually understand the problem, but they are mostly focusing on heavy haul and logging trucks. https://www.edisonmotors.ca/ Their trucks are going to be hybrid diesel electric which helps with the infra problem as opposed to Tesla’s all electric solution which requires an entire new infrastucture to be built when there isn’t enough truck parking as is in many places.

If anyone is interested what the owner/operator side of the trucking industry is saying about this, Land Line Now recently did an update piece on this. https://landlinenow.libsyn.com/land-line-now-dec-5-2024 The TL/DL is that the required tech just doesn’t really exist in a usable format to continue operating same as before. Folks in areas affected by CARB should expect significantly higher prices for goods and much slower shipping times, and a lot of small businesses will be forced out of business as a result of the new rules. Upside is that freight rates will likely shoot through the roof, which will be great for anyone that has the compliant equipment to take advantage of it.

The last one that I can think of is probably Gundum Wing, although I watched a lot of Flinstones reruns growing up as well. Almost everything in both of them went way over my head as a kid.

More than a little older than 5 years, but this is probably my favorite “new” Christmas song.

https://youtu.be/qTx-sdR6Yzk?si=Jp7FS2p8tgDUzUp_

And yet most of them are public companies. Who file annual reports. Which names the top executives. /facepalm

Normally I’d say Intel, but given the issues Intel has had with the last couple generations of processors, go AMD if you are looking for new hardware. If you don’t mind used, I’d go with an Intel based Toughbook or Dell Latitude. Both laptops are well supported by the Linux Kernel. Avoid Intel 13th Gen and newer.

The main reason I like Intel is that, until recently, their naming conventions made more sense. Intel may be slightly more optimized AMD but it’s not going to be enough to notice, especially once you’re dealing with the more high end AMD procs like Threadripper. That said I haven’t used AMD processors since Athlons were king, 20+ years ago now.

Damn, now I feel old. The first linux distro I installed (and was able to run on my hardware) was their second release, 05.04.

what do you use that aloe vera for?

Same as you would use store bought aloe vera gel. When applied to the skin, assuming you are not allergic, it can sooth minor burns and scrapes. As a last resort you can also use it as a laxative by ingesting it. Seriously, don’t eat it, it caused me to vomit as well as loosening my bowels the one time I did that. Normal store bought laxatives are far more “pleasant” to take.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aloe_vera

Depends on the issue. For relatively minor burns I have an Aloe Vera plant, for example. I’m not against pharmaceuticals, or doctors, but for most of my life doctors have been prohibitively expensive or simply not available depending on where I was working at that moment so you learn how to treat most things yourself using whats handy. Giving yourself stitches fucking hurts worse than the original injury by the by.

I have a good paying job now with good insurance and there are multiple medical facilities nearby, but the old habits remain.

Fastest? Moving to a Spanish speaking country. Total immersion is how the French Foreign Legion teaches French from my understanding.

I would probably do a mix of a language program, say Duolingo, Pimsler tapes or Rosetta Stone, and asking a few of your Spanish speaking friends to speak primarily Spanish to you, switching to English only when you are completely lost on a concept. Between the two you should pickup Spanish or rather, their dialect of Spanish, fairly quickly.

You’ve certainly shown the diversity of the word.

I’ve been going through the Messenger Series by J.N. Chaney. It’s trash sci-fi, more than a little contrived in spots, and you really don’t want to go digging into, well anything about it, too hard. That said, it’s what I’ve been in the mood for, for the last little while and it’s often quite funny. Basic plot of the series is that an idiot finds an ancient jaeger, left behind by a long dead race, and must now face off against that race’s mortal enemy to save all life in the galaxy.

Yes, but it’s in TestFlight, and still needs a good bit of work.

https://testflight.apple.com/join/62UabDFz

Most of the time, plot armor. I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen a pack or bag in a movie or tv show that appeared to have what it should have in it.

That is a beautiful build. The book lover in me is mortified, though!

Don’t quote me on it, but I believe that the emissions tech is efficient enough that even with the increased fuel consumption there is an overall reduction in emissions across the board. That was my understanding when the tech was first being fazed in back in the mid to late ‘00’s. Whether that was true or just propaganda, don’t know. I just knew that full compliance was required to run in California and a few other states.

The EGR and DPF systems used in diesel trucks cause (or caused, it’s been a while since I last looked it up) a big reduction in fuel mileage. I think it was a 2 or 3 MPG reduction.Doesn’t sound like much, but it adds up when you are running 200,000+ miles a year per truck. With the system running I believe the average fuel mileage for the trucks in our company is around 6 to 8 MPG depending on the route.

Additionally the systems are expensive as all get out to repair and maintain. When the DPF and DEF systems on my truck went out, the truck was down for 3 months waiting on parts, and from what I heard from our mechanic, the final repair bill was around $15,000USD.

That said, the fines for bypassing the emission systems are big enough that it’s really not worth it, but some owner operators don’t realize it as many don’t run their trucks like the businesses they are. They just know this is expensive as hell and they can reduce the cost by bypassing them.