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The Timer-Enabled Roadcat



 
 
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  #1  
Old April 30th 05, 02:12 PM
Dan M
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default The Timer-Enabled Roadcat

The last few days have been intersting. We ended up spending up two days
in LaPine, OR. The territory there is so beautiful that we had to take
two kitten walks a day, one in the wee hours of the morning and one at
night. Harri absolutely loved that!

We then picked up a load in Springfield, OR. Springfield means Kingsford
Charcoal, and they usually give me just over 45000 pounds. This time,
though, I guess the gods of trucking smiled on me as I only got 25000
pounds. Makes the hills a lot easier. We then made it as far as Klamath
Falls, OR before we stopped.

Klamath Falls is a pretty place. The 18 Wheeler Truck Stop just south of
town is not. And the open field on the south edge of the truck stop is
worse. It's rough ground littered with broken bricks, an occasional
piece of lumber, and a big stack of railroad ties in the middle,
bordered on all four sides by ditches full of stagnant water. But it's
the only area available for kitten walking, so that's where we went.
Harri found a big clump of weeds to explore, and apparently heard
something moving underneath. She sat watching and listening to it for a
few minutes then started squirming deeper under the brush. I stopped
her, not knowing if whatever was under there might have teeth. Harri
gave me a look of total disgust, something that said "how can I find out
what's under there if I don't go look?"

The longer we walked that night, the more uneasy I became. When we got
within about 50 feet of the stack of railroad ties I was so uneasy I
could hardly stand it. I wouldn't let Harri get any closer, then started
us working our way out of the field. That entire walk lasted only 30
minutes. And in the morning I did NOT take her for another walk.

We then ran across the south end of Oregon into the California end of
the Klamath Valley, over to US395, then south to Nevada and Interstate
80. We're now in Fernley, NV. This truck stop has a really nice kitty
walk territory - a big stretch of open desert. We did a night time
kitten walk and a pre-dawn kitten walk, and Harri is now napping on the
dash as I finish this message and get us ready to roll for Las Vegas (we
get to spend two whole days sitting in Las Vegas, waiting for our
receiving customer to open).

That brings me to my observation about the little stripey orange Roadcat
- she is very time aware. When I climb in to the sleeper, if the next
day's schedule requires that we be on the road by a particular time I
set the alarm and tell Harri about the time I'm setting the alarm for.
Without fail, anywhere from 3 minutes (today) to 20 minutes (normal)
before the alarm goes off I will be awakened by a
"mrrrqueak-squeak-purr" coming from my bunk. If I ignore her this will
be followed by Harri washing my nose or whatever other part of my head
is easiest to reach. It is quite remarkable! Harri seems to understand
when I tell her what time I need to get, knows when that time is
approaching, and knows how to wake me up. I am very impressed.

Of course, if we've had a long day's drive and have a couple hours to
spare, I tend to spend those couple extra hours sleeping. Since Harri
gets very bored when I sleep, I can plan on those days (like this
morning) getting the wakeup squeaks a few *hours* in advance as well. I
tell her "thank you, beautiful girl, but it's still 3 hours til I have
to get up". She grudgingly accepts that and let's me get back to sleep.
Good thing I'm able to get back to sleep!
  #2  
Old April 30th 05, 02:42 PM
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


Dan M wrote:
The last few days have been intersting. We ended up spending up two

days
in LaPine, OR. The territory there is so beautiful that we had to

take
two kitten walks a day, one in the wee hours of the morning and one

at
night. Harri absolutely loved that!

We then picked up a load in Springfield, OR. Springfield means

Kingsford
Charcoal, and they usually give me just over 45000 pounds. This time,


though, I guess the gods of trucking smiled on me as I only got 25000


pounds. Makes the hills a lot easier. We then made it as far as

Klamath
Falls, OR before we stopped.

Klamath Falls is a pretty place. The 18 Wheeler Truck Stop just south

of
town is not. And the open field on the south edge of the truck stop

is
worse. It's rough ground littered with broken bricks, an occasional
piece of lumber, and a big stack of railroad ties in the middle,
bordered on all four sides by ditches full of stagnant water. But

it's
the only area available for kitten walking, so that's where we went.
Harri found a big clump of weeds to explore, and apparently heard
something moving underneath. She sat watching and listening to it for

a
few minutes then started squirming deeper under the brush. I stopped
her, not knowing if whatever was under there might have teeth. Harri
gave me a look of total disgust, something that said "how can I find

out
what's under there if I don't go look?"

The longer we walked that night, the more uneasy I became. When we

got
within about 50 feet of the stack of railroad ties I was so uneasy I
could hardly stand it. I wouldn't let Harri get any closer, then

started
us working our way out of the field. That entire walk lasted only 30
minutes. And in the morning I did NOT take her for another walk.

We then ran across the south end of Oregon into the California end of


the Klamath Valley, over to US395, then south to Nevada and

Interstate
80. We're now in Fernley, NV. This truck stop has a really nice kitty


walk territory - a big stretch of open desert. We did a night time
kitten walk and a pre-dawn kitten walk, and Harri is now napping on

the
dash as I finish this message and get us ready to roll for Las Vegas

(we
get to spend two whole days sitting in Las Vegas, waiting for our
receiving customer to open).

That brings me to my observation about the little stripey orange

Roadcat
- she is very time aware. When I climb in to the sleeper, if the next


day's schedule requires that we be on the road by a particular time I


set the alarm and tell Harri about the time I'm setting the alarm

for.
Without fail, anywhere from 3 minutes (today) to 20 minutes (normal)
before the alarm goes off I will be awakened by a
"mrrrqueak-squeak-purr" coming from my bunk. If I ignore her this

will
be followed by Harri washing my nose or whatever other part of my

head
is easiest to reach. It is quite remarkable! Harri seems to

understand
when I tell her what time I need to get, knows when that time is
approaching, and knows how to wake me up. I am very impressed.

Of course, if we've had a long day's drive and have a couple hours to


spare, I tend to spend those couple extra hours sleeping. Since Harri


gets very bored when I sleep, I can plan on those days (like this
morning) getting the wakeup squeaks a few *hours* in advance as well.

I
tell her "thank you, beautiful girl, but it's still 3 hours til I

have
to get up". She grudgingly accepts that and let's me get back to

sleep.
Good thing I'm able to get back to sleep!


I love your Harri stories, Dan. It really makes me wish DS had a
companion, although I don't want him to get another cat. The more I
think about it, Harri's really got it better than a lot of house cats.
What most people don't realize is that those truck cabs/sleepers are as
big as a small bedroom. And she has constant companionship, scritches
anytime she wants to climb into the driver's side, and regular walks
on top of all that! A lot of cats should be so lucky.
Tell Harri to purr for DS. He is stuck in Memphis with a shattered
windshield.

Sherry

  #3  
Old April 30th 05, 03:48 PM
jmcquown
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

wrote:
Dan M wrote:
The last few days have been intersting. We ended up spending up two
days in LaPine, OR. The territory there is so beautiful that we had
to take two kitten walks a day, one in the wee hours of the morning
and one at night. Harri absolutely loved that!

We then picked up a load in Springfield, OR. Springfield means
Kingsford Charcoal, and they usually give me just over 45000 pounds.
This time,


though, I guess the gods of trucking smiled on me as I only got 25000


pounds. Makes the hills a lot easier. We then made it as far as
Klamath Falls, OR before we stopped.

Klamath Falls is a pretty place. The 18 Wheeler Truck Stop just
south of town is not. And the open field on the south edge of the
truck stop is worse. It's rough ground littered with broken bricks,
an occasional piece of lumber, and a big stack of railroad ties in
the middle, bordered on all four sides by ditches full of stagnant
water. But it's the only area available for kitten walking, so
that's where we went. Harri found a big clump of weeds to explore,
and apparently heard something moving underneath. She sat watching
and listening to it for a few minutes then started squirming deeper
under the brush. I stopped her, not knowing if whatever was under
there might have teeth. Harri gave me a look of total disgust,
something that said "how can I find out what's under there if I
don't go look?"

The longer we walked that night, the more uneasy I became. When we
got within about 50 feet of the stack of railroad ties I was so
uneasy I could hardly stand it. I wouldn't let Harri get any closer,
then started us working our way out of the field. That entire walk
lasted only 30 minutes. And in the morning I did NOT take her for
another walk.

We then ran across the south end of Oregon into the California end of


the Klamath Valley, over to US395, then south to Nevada and
Interstate
80. We're now in Fernley, NV. This truck stop has a really nice kitty


walk territory - a big stretch of open desert. We did a night time
kitten walk and a pre-dawn kitten walk, and Harri is now napping on
the dash as I finish this message and get us ready to roll for Las
Vegas (we get to spend two whole days sitting in Las Vegas, waiting
for our receiving customer to open).

That brings me to my observation about the little stripey orange
Roadcat - she is very time aware. When I climb in to the sleeper, if
the next


day's schedule requires that we be on the road by a particular time I


set the alarm and tell Harri about the time I'm setting the alarm
for. Without fail, anywhere from 3 minutes (today) to 20 minutes
(normal) before the alarm goes off I will be awakened by a
"mrrrqueak-squeak-purr" coming from my bunk. If I ignore her this
will be followed by Harri washing my nose or whatever other part of
my head is easiest to reach. It is quite remarkable! Harri seems to
understand when I tell her what time I need to get, knows when that
time is approaching, and knows how to wake me up. I am very
impressed.

Of course, if we've had a long day's drive and have a couple hours to


spare, I tend to spend those couple extra hours sleeping. Since Harri


gets very bored when I sleep, I can plan on those days (like this
morning) getting the wakeup squeaks a few *hours* in advance as
well. I tell her "thank you, beautiful girl, but it's still 3 hours
til I have to get up". She grudgingly accepts that and let's me get
back to sleep. Good thing I'm able to get back to sleep!


I love your Harri stories, Dan. It really makes me wish DS had a
companion, although I don't want him to get another cat. The more I
think about it, Harri's really got it better than a lot of house cats.
What most people don't realize is that those truck cabs/sleepers are
as big as a small bedroom. And she has constant companionship,
scritches anytime she wants to climb into the driver's side, and
regular walks on top of all that! A lot of cats should be so lucky.
Tell Harri to purr for DS. He is stuck in Memphis with a shattered
windshield.

Sherry


Oh dear! He's stuck in Memphis?! Maybe he and I could meet for lunch.
Memphis isn't that bad a place (although I'm a few miles outside of it).

Jill


  #4  
Old April 30th 05, 03:51 PM
jmcquown
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Dan M wrote:
The last few days have been intersting. We ended up spending up two
days in LaPine, OR. The territory there is so beautiful that we had
to take two kitten walks a day, one in the wee hours of the morning
and one at night. Harri absolutely loved that!

We then picked up a load in Springfield, OR. Springfield means
Kingsford Charcoal, and they usually give me just over 45000 pounds.
This time, though, I guess the gods of trucking smiled on me as I
only got 25000 pounds. Makes the hills a lot easier. We then made it
as far as Klamath Falls, OR before we stopped.

Klamath Falls is a pretty place. The 18 Wheeler Truck Stop just south
of town is not. And the open field on the south edge of the truck
stop is worse. It's rough ground littered with broken bricks, an
occasional piece of lumber, and a big stack of railroad ties in the
middle, bordered on all four sides by ditches full of stagnant water.
But it's the only area available for kitten walking, so that's where
we went. Harri found a big clump of weeds to explore, and apparently
heard something moving underneath. She sat watching and listening to
it for a few minutes then started squirming deeper under the brush. I
stopped her, not knowing if whatever was under there might have
teeth. Harri gave me a look of total disgust, something that said
"how can I find out what's under there if I don't go look?"

The longer we walked that night, the more uneasy I became.


Go with your feelings. Something wasn't right there.

When we got
within about 50 feet of the stack of railroad ties I was so uneasy I
could hardly stand it. I wouldn't let Harri get any closer, then
started us working our way out of the field. That entire walk lasted
only 30 minutes. And in the morning I did NOT take her for another
walk.

Again, go with your feelings. I've learned to live with mine. I get the
uneasies sometimes and they have always done right by me.

We then ran across the south end of Oregon into the California end of
the Klamath Valley, over to US395, then south to Nevada and Interstate
80. We're now in Fernley, NV. This truck stop has a really nice kitty
walk territory - a big stretch of open desert. We did a night time
kitten walk and a pre-dawn kitten walk, and Harri is now napping on
the dash as I finish this message and get us ready to roll for Las
Vegas (we get to spend two whole days sitting in Las Vegas, waiting
for our receiving customer to open).

Awww, you need to take a pic of Harri snoozing

That brings me to my observation about the little stripey orange
Roadcat - she is very time aware. When I climb in to the sleeper, if
the next day's schedule requires that we be on the road by a
particular time I set the alarm and tell Harri about the time I'm
setting the alarm for. Without fail, anywhere from 3 minutes (today)
to 20 minutes (normal) before the alarm goes off I will be awakened
by a "mrrrqueak-squeak-purr" coming from my bunk. If I ignore her
this will be followed by Harri washing my nose or whatever other part
of my head is easiest to reach. It is quite remarkable! Harri seems
to understand when I tell her what time I need to get, knows when
that time is approaching, and knows how to wake me up. I am very
impressed.

Awwww! She washes your nose! (giggling)

Of course, if we've had a long day's drive and have a couple hours to
spare, I tend to spend those couple extra hours sleeping. Since Harri
gets very bored when I sleep, I can plan on those days (like this
morning) getting the wakeup squeaks a few *hours* in advance as well.
I tell her "thank you, beautiful girl, but it's still 3 hours til I
have to get up". She grudgingly accepts that and let's me get back to
sleep. Good thing I'm able to get back to sleep!


Your Roadcat stories are a work of art! Harri is a work of art

Jill


  #5  
Old April 30th 05, 07:18 PM
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default




I love your Harri stories, Dan. It really makes me wish DS had a
companion, although I don't want him to get another cat. The more I
think about it, Harri's really got it better than a lot of house

cats.
What most people don't realize is that those truck cabs/sleepers

are
as big as a small bedroom. And she has constant companionship,
scritches anytime she wants to climb into the driver's side, and
regular walks on top of all that! A lot of cats should be so lucky.
Tell Harri to purr for DS. He is stuck in Memphis with a shattered
windshield.

Sherry


Oh dear! He's stuck in Memphis?! Maybe he and I could meet for

lunch.
Memphis isn't that bad a place (although I'm a few miles outside of

it).

Jill


From what I gather, he's at a "terminal" -- truck driver term of which

I'm not exactly sure--but I think he has most of the comforts to make
it not so bad, showers, food--even has a TV, laptop and Sega/Nintnedo
in the truck, so he's probably pretty comfortable--he's only 23, you
know how 23-year-old bachelors can kind of roll with anything. He is a
long-haul truck driver, like Dan. That is a really sweet offer, Jill.
Memphis is a neat place. I told him he ought to get a cab and see some
sights while h e's waiting.

Sherry

  #6  
Old April 30th 05, 07:22 PM
jmcquown
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

wrote:
I love your Harri stories, Dan. It really makes me wish DS had a
companion, although I don't want him to get another cat. The more I
think about it, Harri's really got it better than a lot of house
cats. What most people don't realize is that those truck
cabs/sleepers are as big as a small bedroom. And she has constant
companionship, scritches anytime she wants to climb into the
driver's side, and regular walks on top of all that! A lot of cats
should be so lucky. Tell Harri to purr for DS. He is stuck in
Memphis with a shattered windshield.

Sherry


Oh dear! He's stuck in Memphis?! Maybe he and I could meet for
lunch. Memphis isn't that bad a place (although I'm a few miles
outside of it).

Jill


From what I gather, he's at a "terminal" -- truck driver term of
which

I'm not exactly sure--but I think he has most of the comforts to make
it not so bad, showers, food--even has a TV, laptop and Sega/Nintnedo
in the truck, so he's probably pretty comfortable--he's only 23, you
know how 23-year-old bachelors can kind of roll with anything. He is a
long-haul truck driver, like Dan. That is a really sweet offer, Jill.
Memphis is a neat place. I told him he ought to get a cab and see some
sights while h e's waiting.

Sherry


Well hey, I wasn't trying to take your 23 year old away from you! LOL

Actually, when John drives to and from art shows he often stays at
campgrounds that have the showers, grills, etc. and sleeps in his truck.
He's not a trucker, he's an artist hauling big paintings. But he's got his
truck fitted out with a bed, closet, etc. so I know what you're talking
about.

Right now he would do good to hit Tom Lee Park down by the Mississippi
River. Memphis in May is just starting up and they have the Music Jam going
on. He'd love it!!

Jill


  #7  
Old April 30th 05, 07:33 PM
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


jmcquown wrote:
wrote:
I love your Harri stories, Dan. It really makes me wish DS had a
companion, although I don't want him to get another cat. The more

I
think about it, Harri's really got it better than a lot of house
cats. What most people don't realize is that those truck
cabs/sleepers are as big as a small bedroom. And she has constant
companionship, scritches anytime she wants to climb into the
driver's side, and regular walks on top of all that! A lot of

cats
should be so lucky. Tell Harri to purr for DS. He is stuck in
Memphis with a shattered windshield.

Sherry

Oh dear! He's stuck in Memphis?! Maybe he and I could meet for
lunch. Memphis isn't that bad a place (although I'm a few miles
outside of it).

Jill


From what I gather, he's at a "terminal" -- truck driver term of
which

I'm not exactly sure--but I think he has most of the comforts to

make
it not so bad, showers, food--even has a TV, laptop and

Sega/Nintnedo
in the truck, so he's probably pretty comfortable--he's only 23,

you
know how 23-year-old bachelors can kind of roll with anything. He

is a
long-haul truck driver, like Dan. That is a really sweet offer,

Jill.
Memphis is a neat place. I told him he ought to get a cab and see

some
sights while h e's waiting.

Sherry


Well hey, I wasn't trying to take your 23 year old away from you! LOL


Silly girl. I knew that. It's just so incredibly kind of you to make
that kind of offer. You know what, I have been trying to remember where
it is they have the Memphis Belle on display. Do you know?
Sherry


  #9  
Old April 30th 05, 10:42 PM
Dan M
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

I love your Harri stories, Dan. It really makes me wish DS had a
companion, although I don't want him to get another cat. The more I
think about it, Harri's really got it better than a lot of house cats.
What most people don't realize is that those truck cabs/sleepers are as
big as a small bedroom. And she has constant companionship, scritches
anytime she wants to climb into the driver's side, and regular walks
on top of all that! A lot of cats should be so lucky.
Tell Harri to purr for DS. He is stuck in Memphis with a shattered
windshield.


Company terminals vary from city to city and company to company. I used
to drive for the same folks your son does and have been to the Memphis
terminal - it's not bad. Place to sit and chat with other drivers, TV
room, reasonably clean free showers, laundry facilities, not far from
restaurants, etc. I sure hope the Memphis shop is faster than that same
company's Phoenix, AZ shop!

Harri doesn't seem to mind living on the truck with me, though this time
out she does seem to be geting pretty bored with the long driving
stretches. This weekend will be rough on her - we're parked in Las
Vegas. We arrived her at 2 PM Saturday, and can't deliver until 5 PM
Monday. That's a lot of idle time for a kitty! We'll have to see if we
can locate some decent kitty walk territory here in the north end.

Dan
  #10  
Old May 1st 05, 07:55 PM
mlbriggs
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

On Sat, 30 Apr 2005 06:12:11 -0700, Dan M wrote:

The last few days have been intersting. We ended up spending up two days
in LaPine, OR. The territory there is so beautiful that we had to take two
kitten walks a day, one in the wee hours of the morning and one at night.
Harri absolutely loved that!

We then picked up a load in Springfield, OR. Springfield means Kingsford
Charcoal, and they usually give me just over 45000 pounds. This time,
though, I guess the gods of trucking smiled on me as I only got 25000
pounds. Makes the hills a lot easier. We then made it as far as Klamath
Falls, OR before we stopped.

Klamath Falls is a pretty place. The 18 Wheeler Truck Stop just south of
town is not. And the open field on the south edge of the truck stop is
worse. It's rough ground littered with broken bricks, an occasional piece
of lumber, and a big stack of railroad ties in the middle, bordered on all
four sides by ditches full of stagnant water. But it's the only area
available for kitten walking, so that's where we went. Harri found a big
clump of weeds to explore, and apparently heard something moving
underneath. She sat watching and listening to it for a few minutes then
started squirming deeper under the brush. I stopped her, not knowing if
whatever was under there might have teeth. Harri gave me a look of total
disgust, something that said "how can I find out what's under there if I
don't go look?"

The longer we walked that night, the more uneasy I became. When we got
within about 50 feet of the stack of railroad ties I was so uneasy I could
hardly stand it. I wouldn't let Harri get any closer, then started us
working our way out of the field. That entire walk lasted only 30 minutes.
And in the morning I did NOT take her for another walk.

We then ran across the south end of Oregon into the California end of the
Klamath Valley, over to US395, then south to Nevada and Interstate 80.
We're now in Fernley, NV. This truck stop has a really nice kitty walk
territory - a big stretch of open desert. We did a night time kitten walk
and a pre-dawn kitten walk, and Harri is now napping on the dash as I
finish this message and get us ready to roll for Las Vegas (we get to
spend two whole days sitting in Las Vegas, waiting for our receiving
customer to open).

That brings me to my observation about the little stripey orange Roadcat -
she is very time aware. When I climb in to the sleeper, if the next day's
schedule requires that we be on the road by a particular time I set the
alarm and tell Harri about the time I'm setting the alarm for. Without
fail, anywhere from 3 minutes (today) to 20 minutes (normal) before the
alarm goes off I will be awakened by a "mrrrqueak-squeak-purr" coming from
my bunk. If I ignore her this will be followed by Harri washing my nose or
whatever other part of my head is easiest to reach. It is quite
remarkable! Harri seems to understand when I tell her what time I need to
get, knows when that time is approaching, and knows how to wake me up. I
am very impressed.

Of course, if we've had a long day's drive and have a couple hours to
spare, I tend to spend those couple extra hours sleeping. Since Harri gets
very bored when I sleep, I can plan on those days (like this morning)
getting the wakeup squeaks a few *hours* in advance as well. I tell her
"thank you, beautiful girl, but it's still 3 hours til I have to get up".
She grudgingly accepts that and let's me get back to sleep. Good thing I'm
able to get back to sleep!



Are there any "big cats" in the Klamath Falls rural area? Trust your
uneasy feelings. Purrs for your safety on night walks. MLB
 




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