Tampa Taxi Shots

Hillsborough County Parks Closed Friday

The economy has affected Tampa's way of llife.  I went to Morris Bridge Wilderness Park Friday after work to go on a hike, and I was locked out.  The gates were closed and a sign had been put up saying that it was a furlough day to cut cost.  That sucks.  I read in the paper that I was not the only one taken by surprise,  People trying to return books to the publick librariies even found the drop boxes taped shut!  How could that be saving money?  Strange times we are living in.

I'm Glad "Season" is coming Soon

Business is bad.  Very bad.  Nobody in the Tampa cab business is making money.  I even think the companies are struggling.  The one thing that may save us in the next few months is the start of the traditional Florida tourist season.  It will be down from years ago, but it will still be enough to let us make a couple of dollars for ourselves.

What happens after April is unknown. 

The economy may get worse.  In that case, you will not be able to make any money during the summer months.  That is a fact.  Many of the drivers are starting to think about gearing up for are own change.  We cannot sit around anymore and wait for this useless President to do anything for anybody. 

The irony of all of this is that the poor, who he was supposed to help, are suffering the most. 

Hope And Change....

Gas is on the rise.  You know why?  Not Dick Chaney or George Bush.  That is what they used to say, and some people still blame the former regime for all of our problems.  No, this one lies right on the shoulders of Barack Obama himself.  Gas is rising because of a very weak US Dollar.  A weak dollar that is the result of quadrupling of the national debt, and not getting much to show for it. 

This one is on Obama, not Bush.  It is time to realize that we have an amateur as President and we are going to suffer because of our foolishness to elect this guy just to give a brother a break.

The United States Dollar will go the way of the Italian Lira.  You will need $100,000 to buy a cup of coffee at Starbucks, if there are any left.

Cold Weather Visits Florida

The first cold front of the season is right on time.  The third week of October is historically when the first front makes it down to Florida, giving us some glorious weather.  It is nice to go outside without your shirt sticking to your back.  You can even sleep with the window open and save some money on the eclectic bill. 

What precedes the front is rain.  This image was taken on stand #21 which our Hyde Park stand.  There was a cloud to ground lightening strike that sliced this branch off of the tree.  We had some business Friday, and no cab was on the stand when this happened.  It could of been bad. 

I am liking the lower temps, for sure.

Thursday Night College Footbal #8 Cincinati at #21 USF

The big game is tonight.  Both teams are 5-0 and ranked in the national standings.  It should be a very good game.  I do, however, favor Cincinati.  Don't get me wrong, I am pulling for the Bulls but things must be considered before you put your money down.

Certainly the USF football program caught a break when Mat Grothe went down in a meaningless game against outclassed Charleston Southern.  Grothe was always thought of as a smaller and not as athletic Tim Tebow.  B.J. Daniels has shown real poise by beating FSU, the team that did not recuit him, and managing a very good game against Syracuse.  He may be a little outmatched tonight in a game that will stay close and require minimal mistakes.  I just think Cincinati is a little more "tight" as a program at this point.  The Bulls are getting there.

1. CIN has covered four of its last six road games
2. CIN has won its last six road games SU
3. CIN has played five of its last seven road games OVER the total
4. USF has won its last six games SU
5. USF has won five of its last six home games SU

Take the Cincinati and lay the 3 points.

Florida Skunk Ape Photographed

I know many people do not believe in the existence of a previously unknown primate.  You have seen the Monster Quest episodes on the History Channel, but you still have doubts.  I have always wondered about such things and that is why I got into a scientific approach to trying to find the Florida Skunk ape.  I have found footprints near the hopewell area, but I have not had a sighting.  That has changed.

Tuesday, I went into a SWIFT-MUD area north of Tampa.  It took 20 minutes to just reach the entrance by foot, then, 90 minutes to get to an old creek area where I found primate footprints and saw something moving across a clearing on the other side of the creek.  I thought I was video taping the beast, but what I got was a high rez image, and 18 seconds of video.  The photo above will be hard to explain.  The anatomical features of a primate are present and it was walking away from me.

I have a video compilation of my outing posted on Youtube.,  You can view it here.

 

 

My New Taxi And Its Hot Man!

Well, its not really new but it is new to me.  My other cab is on its last leg, so the office gave me 557 to drive.  It runs great, has a good tyranny and no vibration and no smoke coming out the end.  My customers will like this. 

This is me on the 23 stand which is our "strip" zone which is Dale Mabry just north of Kennedy blvd Tampa.  The famous Mons Venus is in this zone and about a million cabs stake it out at night. 

Its hot man with this heat wave.  Its 96 in the shade with a heat index of 110.  By this weekend we should get a break in this.  I hope the next six months are on the cool side so I can get out in the field.

 

Eagles 21 Bucs 7 At Halftime

Josh Johnson is playing a good game for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  He is moble, he is hitting his recievers (even though they have dropped some passes) and the offense has moved the ball down the field.  The head coach, Raheem Morris has decided to not kick field goals but go for touchdowns.  That has cost them.  They have failed in three 4th downs on the goal and have left points on the board.  The second half should be fun.

Andy Reid has never lost after the bye week. He is a perfect 10-0 in his time with the Eagles.

The Buccaneers got the onside kick!!!  Now how cool is that ...Eagles 31 Bucs 14, 7:09 left in game.

U2 Bono, The Edge, Friends of Tampa Cab Drivers

Wow!  These guys from U2 rule.  I mean their music is great, their music has deep meaning, their music stokes an archetype with people all over the world.  People from almost every nation on Earth came to Tampa this weeked to enjoy this greatest of rock bands in modern times. It was fantastic having them in Tampa Florida at this time of year.  Yes, it was a little on the record hot side, and so was business. 

It has not been this busy since the Super Bowl was in Tampa.  The economy is getting a needed boost as the concert goers are staying on and spending their money in Tampa and on the taxi rides that they so desperately needed to get to and from the event.

I have never really been a fan of U2, but this Rock Band Rocks OUT!!!

 

 

U2 Tampa Concert Stimulates Economy

The liberal pacifist Bono is at least putting a few dollars into this taxi drivers pocket (I guess he is a capitalist).  Today was like the days we used to have before the economy tanked.  I took advantage of it. Imagine a boost to the economy that is not a dictate of the Federal government.  These guys are from Ireland anyway. 

I was driving by Tampa Stadium today and I could see this large, claw like structure rising above the top railings.  It was the mainframe stage superstructure for the U2 concert tonight in Tampa.  I had seen it on tv when it was used in Paris.  They must take it with them everywhere.

Speaking of everywhere, I was picking up people who where in town from all over the United States and from other Countries.  The hotels are full even that we are having record high temperatures of 95* with high humidity.  They opened the stadium at 7 this morning and people have been arriving all day.  Must be a great show.

Some people took a cab from the airport today and they were so excited they left there passports and U2 tickets on the backseat.  The driver was able to find them and return the items.  Man, I hope they gave him a big tip.

United States To Use Atomic Bomb On Moon Friday

NASA will impact the moon at its south pole with a BOMB Friday that will make the Atom Bomb on Japan look like a firecracker.  They really don't want you to know just how powerful this bomb is and that it cannot be a CONVENTIONAL bomb based on its energy output.  The plume of ignited debris will be visible from the Mississippi River to Hawaii, with the naked eye!  Its all in the Joules.  That is the measurement of energy that scientist use in rating output. 

The Centaur Rocket will strike at 7:31 AM and convert 2200 kg of mass into 10 billion joules of kinetic energy with a plume of debris that will rise to to over 10km.  Did you get all of this.   The bomb over Japan never got that high.  This is not a hand grenade. 

One of the fundamental differences between a nuclear and a conventional explosion is that nuclear explosions can be many thousands (or millions) of times more powerful than the largest conventional detonations.  They say it is a "kinetic" bomb...whatever that is?  Why the massive tonnage, and how is this thing like millions of times more powerful than a "daisy cutter?"

I saw this bumper sticker today and I thought it was appropriate.  Man has fucked up the Earth, now he wants to start fucking with the moon.  Don't get me wrong, I am not a LUNAR environmentalist, but there are risk we could not calculate.  Like the debris could come back onto us.  There is no atmosphere on the moon and only weak gravity to stop the plume.

What about the moon?  Do we have the legal right?  We have a treaty that most people do not know about.   We had one with the Indians.  Is Obama the next James Polk who will declare "Manifest Destiny" in that the United States can do anything it declairs in our best interest and screw any treaty we have entered into.

UNITED STATES SIGNED AN INTERNATIONAL MOON TREATY IN 1979

The treaty would apply to the Moon and to other celestial bodies within the Solar system, other than the Earth, including orbits around or other trajectories to or around them.

The treaty makes a declaration that the Moon should be used for the benefit of all states and all peoples of the international community. It also expresses a desire to prevent the Moon from becoming a source of international conflict. To those ends the treaty:

• Bans any military use of celestial bodies, including weapon testing or as military bases.
• Bans all exploration and uses of celestial bodies without the approval or benefit of other states under the common heritage of mankind principle (article 11).
• Requires that the Secretary-General must be notified of all celestial activities (and discoveries developed thanks to those activities).
• Declares all states have an equal right to conduct research on celestial bodies.
• Declares that for any samples obtained during research activities, the state that obtained them must consider making part of it available to all countries/scientific communities for research.
• Bans altering the environment of celestial bodies and requires that states must take measures to prevent accidental contamination.
• Bans any state from claiming sovereignty over any territory of celestial bodies.
• Bans any ownership of any extraterrestrial property by any organization or person, unless that organization is international and governmental.
• Requires all resource extraction and allocation be made by an international regime.

This bombing could not be happening Friday without the consent of Obama.  Manifest Destiny?  Ironic.

Robles Park Cab Robbery

There were four cab robberies in the area of Robles Park during the month of September.  All of them at night.  Two cab robberies occurred in the first week of September while another two cab robberies happened during the last two days.  In two instances, the same victim was robbed in a span of three weeks with the same MO and the same victim.  Three of the robberies occurred in Grid 95 (Robles Park) while another occurred in the area north of Robles Park.  The suspect is.....Are you ready for the surprise....A Black Male, 5' 6'' to 5' 8'', around 160 lbs 20-28 yp. and thin build. 

Our night dispatcher, John, said that the robber first called asking for a cab that had change for a fifty dollar bill....WTF...and they sent a cab to Robles.  Wow.  I hope the driver knew that he was responding to what we call a "condo" call.  That means the call is in a high crime area.  I never work those areas, even in broad daylight. 

Why any taxi driver would respond to that area at 3 in the morning is unknown to me.

The police eventually caught the guy because he was using his own cell phone!!!!!  FOX's Dumb Criminals!