Tampa Taxi Shots

Sunrise Tribute To The Fallen On Memorial Day

I go every year to the VFW cemetery on Kennedy Blvd in Tampa Florida at sunrise. My reasons are deeply personal. Today I gave a little speech while I was there. We owe our freedom to the fallen soldiers that lie here. 

Nudism Goes High Tech

 Pasco County Florida is the nudist capital of the United States. Nudist from all over the world come to Southwest Florida for the sunshine and nice weather. In recent years many have been using the internet to promote their camps. Now the task has become easier. There is a Facebook for nudist called Skinbook not as x-rated as you think. They allow no pornographic images, only upper torso photos, and no rude comments are allowed. In fact, only 10% of applicants are excepted because they can't follow these simple rules. The site is located in the UK which has a centuries long tradition of nudism, reports Time.

Skinbook seems to be attracting a younger crowd then normally found at nudist establishments (30 years instead of the traditional 60). Young people may be more into social networking and are more computer savvy, which may account for the difference. They are also more into hanging out an drinking beer. Most people may be put off by the fact that nudist merely look like average people. Few have magazine cover bodies. The spirit of nudism is not voyeurism, it is relaxing and enjoying life. Single men are traditionally denied access to keep the creep factor at a minimum. I took some people to a nudist resort a few years ago. It was no big deal. They did ask me to keep my clothes on, however. Strange 

Pelosi Blames Bush For Gulf Oil Spill

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., blamed the Bush administration for any lack of oversight leading up to the Gulf oil spill. The Obama administration, on the other hand, is blameless.

From Talk Radio News Service:

“Many of the people appointed in the Bush administration are still burrowed in the agencies that are supposed to oversee the [oil] industry,” Pelosi said when asked if Democrats could have prevented or mitigated the crisis by keeping a closer watch on the industry.

Added the Speaker, “the cozy relationships between the Bush administration’s agency leadership and the industry is clear…I’ve heard no complaints from my members about the way the president has handled it,” Pelosi stated.

On Friday, the Washington Examiner requested that Speaker Pelosi’s office release the list of Bush appointees to whom she was referring. We’ll let you know when we hear back.

Obama is in his SECOND YEAR as president.  If he was the environmental President as we were told, he had time to enact regulations or deny permits.  The BP permit for this dig was on his watch. Man up and take ownership or move on. Let someone who can do the job step in. ..Please.

 

Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/pelosi-blames-bush-administration-for-bp-oil-spill-95175304.html#ixzz0pMCXiZL2

In The Florida Jungle

Followers of this blog know that I like to hike in the remote areas of Central Florida and bring my video camera with me in case I encounter the Florida Skunkape or Bigfoot. I like the exercise and the fresh air. For over the last year it has been a hobby of mine.

It has been a good hobby. My YouTube Channel called fasanotampa has over 347 subscribers and a Blogger blog I started is getting steady traffic. However, it is getting difficult to try and make daily post for eight different blogs when Tampa Taxi Shots has been my longest running and most successful blog ever. I just need to consolidate and make this the Official Tim Fasano Blog or website. 

I don't know if you have a YouTube channel or not but you have to admit the flaming that goes on is beyond the pale. I have really lost my interest especially that someone has started a blog just to bash the videos I, and a few others, put up. Crazy if you ask me. 

Everyone has their own interest, and I have mine. This is a commercial site. Like I get paid to do this blog. I get a monthly check from advertisers and that pays for my blog. Simple, I got my reasons for this. 

We are going into the Memorial Day Weekend which is significant in Bigfoot History. Memorial day 1996 was the day of the famous bigfoot sighting in Washington State which was featured in the Hisotry Channel special Bigfoot Where Legend Meets Science with Dr. Jeff Meldrum.  Here this interview of him on Coast To Coast AM Radio.

Speed Trap Intersection Cameras

 Today was busy. Very busy.  It was what I needed. The difference between what is going on now and 2008-2009 is we actually have good days now.  We had NO good days during those two years. I am even seeing some construction going on around Tampa.  I have not seen that in a long time. 

I know Memorial Day is sort of stay at home backyard cookout kind of thing, but many people have family up north, so they were on their way to the Tampa International Airport. I did not wait long on stands either. 

During all of this, I got a call that went way out Park ave near the Wagon Wheel Flea Market. This guy was going out to get his car and I really needed the fifty bucks. I have not been out this way in over a year Larry used to get calls like this all the time.

I crossed the Gandy Bridge and made a bid on a 33 from Gandy and Westshore. Hard to beat and I won it. Another ride to the airport. I actually made a hundred bucks today; its been a long time.

While I was at the red light I could see they have installed those red light cameras to catch speeders. They claim they are only placed at five intersections and the nearest one in Waters and Dale Mabry. They what is this thing doing here?  Is it just a test run? I wish someone would throw a blanket over them; how funny would that be? 

They like to screw with the law abiding public without having the police do it. You have no choice,   you must pay. At least with a real traffic ticket, you have options including taking it to court where you could win and have it all thrown out. You don't have that option with these things. That is why I am against them. 

I was a witness in traffic court recently. Many of the tickets were dropped or reduced on technicalities. Often the police officer would not show up in court and the judge would throw it out. Often, because of a safe driving record the judge would reduce it to court cost. There is a tremendous amount of discretion in this process; all of that is absent with these cameras and you have no rights.

If we have an unsafe intersection, then have the police watch the corner. We are letting big brother invade our daily activities. 

Signs Of An Economy Going South

  This photo was taken on taxi stand 23 on the corner of Columbus and Dale Mabry. The boarded up building is the old Miami Subs. This resturant failed to adapt to the recession and went out of business. Sam Seltzer up the road (a steak house) went out of business last week. Tampa is starting to look like a ghost town with these empty shacks standing as a monument to the success of the Obama administration to get this economy going. Is it not a shame that a dunce Bush could screw things up so bad that a Mensa Obama could not undue. Please.
  You can see by the odometer that I am not putting many miles on my taxi cab. There should be 140 miles not this measely 40. I only spent six dollars in gas today. I never could have imagined that it could get this bad. My friend Larry used to work stand 23 and would easily put on this kind of miles. I came out at four in the morning and did not get a ride until 6:14 am after the day dispatcher came on. I don't think that has ever happened.

Big Black Glob Coming To Florida - Obama's Crude Awakening

     This is the latest image from space of the Gulf Coast oil spill. This black cloud seems to be in the big bend of Florida area. That is not good. The west coast of Florida has some of the best beaches in the world with white sugar sand. If they are turned black, tourism could be seriously affected for years or a decade. Tourism is important to what I do.
      This is an Engineering problem that they need to fix now. Obama needs to light a fire under somebody or get somebody else to fix it like yesterday.

LOST TV And LIMBUS INFANTIUM

 A LOST TV Program Theory I posted five years ago seems to be somewhat correct.  My thought at the time was that LOST was about the Parent/Child conflict and the Roman Concept of LIMBUS INFANTIUM (Note the relationship between Jack and his father). The final episode concluded with the understanding that these things can be overcome, and a place awaits before we enter eternity were reconciliation, understanding and finally peace exist. 

What was masterful about the writers of LOST was how they blended various philosophy and theology and New Age thought without offending or turning off their audience.  There are basic archetypes that people will universally connect with. There is a universal consciousness and they stayed within that realm. I will really miss this show. It was absolutely superb. 

This is what I wrote on a blog post in 2006:

Now what I believe will happen is you will find out Will is a "ghost in the machine" keep in mind this is all allegory. This will become a very spiritual TV program as they begin to blend it with the scientific. That is why in season one they had to show two camps forming-one believing in science (Jack) one believing in faith (Locke). The writers are aware of the success of The Passion Of Christ and I think that's where they are taking us.

LOST has become a phenomena with various theories being developed to explain the strange things happening on the Island. One of the early theories was of Purgatory. But for many people that came up short. That's because they missed the correct concept of it. According to Goggle. I am the only one who is putting forth the LIMBUS INFANTIUM THEORY. That is the only thing that can explain the kidnapping of the children and the Parent/Child conflicts.

One of the coolest sites on the net PALEORAMA  (All things doing with mankind and science and religion) has the best definition of Limo I have ever read

"In Roman Catholic theology, limbo describes the temporary status of the souls of good persons who died before the resurrection of Jesus, and the permanent status of the unbaptized who die in childhood (without having committed any personal sins, but without having been freed from original sin).

Limbo comes from the Latin limbus meaning a hem or an edge or a boundary. While "limbo" is often popularly understood to be a "place where souls go", the term also describes and reflects theological uncertainty. As such, limbo is not part of the Church's official doctrine (compare purgatory, which is). Official Church teaching remains that the status of these souls (who don't seem to deserve hell, yet cannot follow the divinely-revealed path to heaven) is in limbo – in other words, their fate cannot be determined by any but God."

Notice all the children in LOST have been taken. Why include this in the show if it had no meaning. This is very important.  What happens to unbaptized children when they die? In  the Catholic theology of Purgatory children are taken from their parent's to a place called LIMBUS INFANTIUM. Please Google this. Children are seen to have been born in Original Sin and denied the regeneration of Christ Sacrifice. This matter has been debated for centuries and it is believed that children enjoy eternal happiness with God. It is unclear as to weather they ever see their parents again. This is important for this tv show.

I would recommend the Catholic Encyclopedia web site for their specific definition.

These are some points that they recommend you Google 

1 The Limbo of the Fathers (limbus patrum) (also known as Abraham's Bosom)

2 The Limbo of Children (limbus infantium)

3 Limbo as a state of eternal, natural joy

4 Limbo in literature

Tampa Police Like To Write Cheap Traffic Tickets

I saw the cop as I was coming over the bridge at MLK and the Hillsborough river (not to far from the pain management clinic). It was a Sunday morning and things were slow, so why not wait at a spot where some cab driver coming down an incline might pick up speed without knowing it. Before he sees the cop, HE'S NAILED! and Tampa has more money to work with. Just do a bake sale guys if you need money. Better yet, follow me and I will show you were the real bad guys are at...then do your job like a real man

. I know were all the speed traps are at in Tampa from being on the streets as a taxi driver. I will be sharing this information with my blog watchers soon. That will cut down on the amount of money Tampa is extorting from law abiding citizens.

Its Done

 I drove 65 miles from 2 am to 11 am this morning before I gave up.  I should have put in 150 miles.  We used to.  Hope and change has pumped up the local economy to levels not seen since 2008.  Ha Ha....This business is down and now people are really acting badly. 

 The only call I had before six went to a convienience store. The drunks from the night before had busted glass in the parking lot.  Taxi drivers really don't need flat tires.  They are a pain in the ass to fix with the little jacks they give us, it slows uo down and we may be backed charged for the tire if road debrie cause it. Fine, give a car where the tires do not touch the road. 

 I should usually get about two or three airport calls before the shift change at six, but not this morning.  None. Fridays used to be one of the best days in the week, not any more. This trend has gone on for too long and I am so worried about it now. I don't know if I am ever going to be able to make a living again.  They just keep hiring more drivers and not many will give it up and go do something else.

I did notice that the Total Image Health Pain clinic at 2137 w MLK was raided and has been shut down,or at least the owners closed it down after receiving major heat from the federal authorities and the Tampa Police in that organized crack down. 

Now Listen Up!

Sometimes you just have to set people straight on things:

1) No US President should allow another Head Of State to criticize Arizona.  What are you nuts?  That was an outrage. Are we headed for another civil war because Obama won't do his job of securing our borders.  When he was at Harvard, did he learn what the use of borders were to a nation, and how important they where to protect?  This is TAMPA TAXI SHOTS IN ARIZONA - home of the freest people in the United States! I went out there to use my constitutional right to photograph beautiful, young, naked Playboy models.  I enjoy my rights BECAUSE MY GRANDFATHER ORLANDO CAME TO THIS GREAT LAND LEGALLY! 

 

2) The city of Tampa needs to forget about the red light cameras that they want to post all over the city.  Why don't they put them at EVERY INTERSECTION.  Make the fines $500 for each infraction so that most drivers will get at least $10,000 - $20,000 a month in fines.  That will solve the money problems for the city! Why are we letting our government do this to us.  They need to hold a bake sale or a raffle or garage sale if they need money and stop SCREWING with people who are trying to get to work and MAKE A LIVING!

3)  Drug dealers and crack heads need to stay out of Tampa and stop going to the pain clinics like the one at 2137 w MLK.  The police are setting up stings and these pain clinics like MD and MORE in Town And County will soon be shut down. 

4) Today is "Draw The Prophet Muhammad Day"  One problem...He was not Gods Prophet.  Listen to the video below

Why Is Gas Going Down?

 I can't help but notice that the price of gas is going down In Tampa Florida.  It can't have anything to do with the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico?  I don't know.  I do know that oil balls are washing ashore in Key West and thats not good.  We will all grow tired of that soon.  Let me tell you what I am really tired of. 

President Obama is one of the biggest proponents of Gulf Shore Drilling.  That is why Greenpeace and all the enviro groups are pissed at him.  Obama is pragmatic and knows we need oil, as well as, alternative energy. They were also pissed at the wind farm off of Nantucket Island as well.  

Face it, if the current administration had been committed to the the elimination of offshore oil drilling, they have had plenty of time to enact HARD regulations, which they have done none of.  

Oh, I know, this is all George Bush's fault.  Deal with todays headlines.  This just in.....Obama is two years into his cycle.  He is in charge....ALL responsibility is on his shoulders....not Palin, not Bush, not McCain, not anyone......Obama.  

If you want to know why oil is on the Florida shore line...ask OBAMA.  Period. 

Oh, DRILL BABY DRILL...It is just an engineering problem.  No big deal. Gulf Oil Means THOUSANDS OF JOBS AND LOWER GAS PRICES WHICH GIVE US EVEN MORE JOBS!  

Summer Arrives In Tampa

 Man is the taxi business down.  I knew it would drop off (it seems a little better than last year).  We are at the point now where "Shoe' runs the slowest shifts of the week.  Unfortunately they are on the weekends when drivers really need to make their money. 

My hits are down on the blog because I deleted all the girlie stuff.  I knew that would happen.  I am better off because of that.  I can build this blog up on the things that people want to talk about and I can get back to taking photos of this fabulous place we live in, like I used to do when I started this blog in 2005.  

Larry is right.  Mr. Smith wants us all to be communist and be at the mercy of Arabs that by a fluke of nature found oil under their sand.  If not for that, they would be beggars.

The image is me sitting on stand 31 waiting for a call.  It took almost an hour this morning, but it did go to the airport. We need rides like that.  If taxi drivers don't get TIA calls in the morning, they are pretty much screwed. 

Obama vs Reagan 2012

In the year 2012 Incumbent President Barack Obama faces the Governor of California Ronald Reagan in a debate.  This is fantasy, but it provoked an emotion in me that most politicians cannot.  I really miss Ronny.  I thank the guy who spliced this video together.  Enjoy.

Changes To Tampa Taxi Shots - Republican Convention 2012

There are some changes to the blog Tampa Taxi Shots.  

With the 2012 Republican Convention slated for downtown Tampa, I want visitors to come to my blog for information about hotels, restaurants, nightclubs, golf and so forth.  I do not want this site to look like a porn portal.  That is why I have taken down all of the girlie stuff I could find.  Plus, I just want to be known for something else.  

Do you think Sarah Palin will be the nominee in 2012?  Not sure about that.  I am sure I do like this photo of her.  Sorry, I could not resist one more time. I used to take a lot of girl photos but I have now gotten away from that.  The economy was a large part.  Things move on, however. 

I know its a couple of years away.  Gee, I hope the Gulf beaches are not covered with black sludge.  If so, I don't think you will hear her saying "drill baby drill."  Just a thought. 

Old English Sheepdogs And Love

It seems many people love their Old English Sheepdogs. I can see why.  The encounter I had the other day with a 'sheepie' was considered normal for the people at this website dedicated to "everything about old English Sheepdogs."  They seem like really nice people.

When I was 17 years old my grandfather got a sheepie that we named "Mercedes."  She was a great dog with much energy and she ran all over my grandfathers back yard.  We began to notice that she could not hear. We took her to the vet and he said the dog was deaf.  She was only about 10 months old.  The vet said that with popular breeds "puppy mills" will inbreed the dogs and genetic defects can be the result. That is mean.

People that run Puppy Mills should be put in prison for a long time. 

My grandfather was getting old and could not 'keep pace' with Mercedes, so we found her a nice home in a family that had a 5 acre backyard.  Wow!  I know Mercedes was very happy to be able to run, run, run and be loved by a family that would care for her special needs. 

Thanks Old English Sheepdog people for posting the link.  I now know why you love this breed. 

2137 West Martin Luther King ave Tampa Florida Needs To Be Shut Down For Illegal Drug Trafficking

 I began to wonder about this place a couple of months ago when I started getting multiple rides a day to this clinic at 2137 West Martin Luther King in Tampa from all the low end motels on Dale Mabry.  It is called Total Imaging and all of the fares were from out of State and said they had come to Tampa for 'Pain Management.' They all looked like 'crack heads.'  They were all young, and none of them walked with a limp.  

I would pull into the parking area and take them to the back (that is were the entrance is). The crummy looking people hanging out in the parking lot all had tattoos and were smoking cigarettes and it looked like the waiting room at the methadone clinic,  

I finally figured out what was going on when I started taking people to a pharmacy in Temple Terrace which was the only one in Tampa that, at the time, could dispense large, massive, obscene quantities of opium based drugs.  These people from out of State were not in pain, they were dealers coming to Florida for a large supply to take back to Ohio (most seem to be from there) and sell them street level. 

Some days, it gets to the point, when you get a call from the Days Inn Stadium, Howard Johnson's Stadium, Best Western South Dale Mabry, Tahitian Inn South Dale Mabry, you tell your dispatcher in advance where you will be vacating at even before you pick up!  You just know they are going to Tampa's new, great, tourist attraction.  That is now what we are becoming known for.  To bad we don't have real tourist.  

How can places like this keep operating?

I do like the business from the drug dealers, but this has got to stop. One night I took these guys there around midnight, and the place was still open!  People in the parking lot were smoking dope and drinking beer.  I say the Florida Department Of Law Enforcement is doing a great job when a Tampa Taxi Shots Cab driver can find out more then they can.  Did I leave out the Tampa Police Department.  

English Sheepdog Goes Beserk

I had a time call to take this lady to work.  While I was waiting in her driveway, I saw this English Sheep dog running around the front yard.  I thought it was her dog.  I was wrong. 

When she came out of her house, the dog ran up to her wanting to be petted.  She kind of ignored him.  When she opened the back door, the dog jumped in and she screamed.  I asked her if that was her do and she said she had never seen the animal before. 

He jumped into the front seat and LANDED ON MY LAP!  He started licking my face.  We got a problem.  I opened the front door to get the dog out, and he jumped into the backseat.  Come on man!  I opened the back door and he jumped into the front seat! This is getting old.

The lady says she has got to get to work and I need to solve this problem.  I got an idea. 

I stand by the taxi and pretend to be eating something and to place it on the ground, hoping the dog will run out of the the cab for the food.  No such luck.  He does not budge. I now grab him by the scruff of the neck and begin pulling.  The lady is pushing and the dog will not budge!  He breaks free and jumps onto the front seat. Man!

Forget it.  I tell the lady to get in the back seat.  The dog is up front on the passenger side.  I take off and roll down the window.  Guess what!  He sticks his head out the window.  We cruise down Dale Mabry with the dog sticking his head out.  His hair hangs down over his eyes and I have no idea how he can see. 

I drop the lady off and take 'Mercedes' back to the area I found him.  This time I only open the door and he jumps out!  I take off. He was looking at me in the rear view mirror.  I think he liked me and wanted to go home.  I liked him to.  

I wish I could have dogs where I live for he would make a great pet.  A little unruly. 

Happy Mothers Day, A New Blog, And The 'Gable Film'

Happy Mothers Day to everyone.  My mother is no longer with us only in my heart.  I have started a new blog that is more in line with my interest.  It is called Intriguing Phenomena and it is about unsolved mysteries from the begining of mankind- Atalntis, bigfoot, Jack The Ripper, Loch Ness Monster, UFO, Zombies and so forth.  Just a diversion.  Why not.  The cab business is not so hot right now.  Check out the blog!

I was linked by Tampa's very own Nolan Canova of the most popular pop culture blog going.  He did an update on the Gable Film and noted where he got the info.  Thanks Noland!

From the Crazed Fan Boy site of Nolan:

The Gable Film
Last summer, I was told about this unusual home movie from Tampa taxi driver and popular paranormal blogger Tim Fasano. A Super-8 home movie, supposedly bought at an estate sale, showed a wintery family outing for several minutes before concluding with a shot of an unusual animal---seen in silhouette against the snow---that looked like an odd combination of dog, gorilla and bear. After several seconds, the animal charges the photographer, the camera falls to the ground and the film runs out.

Bucs Got The New Warren Sapp...They Could Have Got The New Riggins

I guess they believed they needed two DT's.  I can't argue with that.  But look at what they left in the board with a primary runner (Williams) coming off of double knee surgery.  Forget the fact that Toby Gerhart is white.  His athletic ability is something we have not seen in years.  The Vikings just got better. The Bucs may regret not taking him.

Change For A Twenty

 It seems most customers will give you a twenty dollar bill no matter what the amount of the fare. The first two fares I had today went short, and they did not let me down. They gave me twenties for 5-6 dollar fares. Yikes! That wipes out all of my change (cab drivers do not begin their day with thousands of dollars on us). I went on my third fare.

He is going from Albany and North B to Howard and Mississippi (I could only spell this because of the jingle I learned in 5th grade). I ask him if he has exact change. He says no, he was going to give me a twenty. So we stop at the convenience store at Howard and Morrison. He goes inside, gets some cigs, and comes back. We are set.

When I get him to his house, he hands me a twenty dollar bill! What! We just went to the store. He was a little drunk and said just keep it. I was not trying to rip him off.

When he got out of the cab I looked at it and it was a 1928 twenty gold backed bill. You don't see many of them anymore. I'm not sure how many people have seen the gold backed $20 bill. All I've ever seen were images and the signature was of A.W. Mellon. Is that who I think it is?

I know the driver Joe down on Britton Plazza, he buys old currency. I might make a little more than face value.

I have always understood that in time of economic downturn, you will find old currency and coins in circulation. People are desperate.

Emery Rowe Was Let Go

I don't know if anyone remembers Emery Rowe (or is it Emry?) but he was let go by United Cab after 14 years of service.  It seems he ran over some lady's foot at the Sweet Bay grocery store on Gandy.  

Emery was always a Gandy driver and would never leave that area no matter what changes were going on.  I always believed  that "adapt or parish' is the law of nature. Some people just never get that. 

United Cab does not have a 'blanket policy' on how they make personal decisions. Discretion is the better part of valor.  They take a look at your track record, and go from there.  That was the problem. 

Emery had a long list of customer complaints and accidents going back years.  A couple years ago he hit a jogger on Davis Island that was clearly on the sidewalk.  Now this.  Not good. 

He was a friend of mine (but he could be difficult).  I suspect he was not happy about getting the grocery call and aggravated the situation that led to the accident. 

Oh well, he will probably surface again with Yellow Cab Of Tampa.

Wade Davis - There is No Crying In Baseball

 Wade Davis beat Zack Greinke in a scintillating pitchers' duel, and Evan Longoria homered to lift the Tampa Bay Rays over the Kansas City Royals 1-0 on Sunday

"Davis (3-1) allowed three hits, three walks and struck out five in seven innings during his latest matchup with an American League ace. The right-hander has faced the opposing team's opening day starter — including New York Yankees lefty CC Sabathia and Boston's Josh Beckett — in all five of his starts this year.

Greinke (0-3) gave up four hits in his 10th career complete game and first this season. The 2009 AL Cy Young Award winner, who has yielded just three runs over 22 innings in his last three starts, struck out six and hit a batter with a pitch."

via www.ajc.com

This is why I removed the post I had about how much I hated the New York Yankees. The success of the Tampa Bay Rays will be dependent on how well they pitch and hit. It is all up to them, and if they lose to the better team, so be it. There is no crying in baseball!

A Strong Cup Of Coffee

Sometimes you just need a strong cup of black coffee. Taxi drivers keep the hours of pimps and we need the extra pick me up that only diner coffee seems to provide.  

This was at POT BELLIES in south Tampa just as they opened.  You can tell I am tired and have been working a lot of hours. 

Get the skillet with eggs over medium.  Add tobasco sauce and its a winner. 

The girls are great, with nice service.  They actually smile and seem to like their jobs.