Free Roam

 The city of Tuscaloosa is expanding the Snow Hinton Park. They have added lots of walking paths, benches, and plush green grass. Today, it is ST Bunn's Job to pave those walking paths. The ground is nice and hard, and easily supports the weight of this loaded truck. And so, here I sit, with a full load of asphalt, waiting for my turn to unload into the paver machine, while they pave the new walking paths. I admit that, parked here, in the middle of this expanded park, on the grass, with streets all around, filled with busy traffic, feels like I'm sitting in the spotlight. 

There is a Chick-fil-A restaurant very close by. I am very tempted to walk over there and get something for my lunch. Although, I am on the carnivore diet, and I am trying to stay away from carbs. Not only is there chicken breaded, but it also comes in a bun, and the bun is bread too. It seems, I cannot get away from carbs. In fact, the only way I can get away from carbs, is eating at home. Or bringing food from home to work. Meat, fish, butter, cheese. That's it. Variations of that. That is all you get. There is nothing more. Okay, maybe mayonnaise and mustard. But, the carnivore diet is actually very strict. Because there are carbohydrates in almost every fucking food source in the world. 

Update: I managed to resist Chick-fil-A. It is actually very easy. They want to know your name at the counter. Why!? They don't need to know my name. There is a ticket number on all the receipts. Just use that. How hard can that be? Other restaurants such as McDonald's and Jack's just use the ticket number on the receipt, and it works flawlessly.  So, maybe Chick-fil-A thinks that putting your name on the ticket is more personal driven, and would make the customer feel more welcomed. No! It doesn't. People know that you're not trying to make friends with them. That concept doesn't work. And it never will. 

Stephen Robinson
SocialStephen.com
linkpo.st/SocialStephen

What Matters Most

 

Wednesday, July 31st, 2024

Priorities. Yes! I have been going over in my mind, what matters the most. My priorities. What are they? I am very interested in growing my blog, Social Stephen, and writing my book, Kenny Kinesis, but I must consider my priorities. Right now, my priorities are growing the blog on my website. And, email marketing.  I have also been looking into new ways to streamline the blogging process. It's just a matter of time until I will have a foolproof system to make blogging a streamlined routine. 

Next? Yes! You guessed it! Streamline the email marketing process. I must develop a foolproof, streamlined system that will allow me to find topics, content, and advertisements that can be included in the emails that I send. Yes! Get the ball rolling and keep it rolling.  This is going to take some research, learning, and formulating a plan. But, I know that I can do it. I have the drive, the ambition, and the passion to make it all happen. Of course, I will take notes and even draw a mind map, that shows, visually, what needs to be done, step by step, from beginning to end. 

Angry Birds makes me angry 😠

I have been playing Angry Birds Showdown on YouTube Playables. It was very enjoyable in the beginning. But, all of my power-ups are gone. There is no way of getting more power-ups. Yes, I can get 3 measly power-ups, with the daily reward, but that isn't squat.  The people I am playing against, in the game, seem to have a never ending supply of power-ups. There is no shop. I do not know of any other way to get power-ups, besides the daily reward. It makes me so angry. Even more angry than the birds themselves. 

There is no communication within the game. I have no way of talking to my rivals. I don't know how they're getting so many power-ups. I searched thoroughly for a store or a shop where I can buy power-ups. None, nada, zero, zilch. There are no advertisements. I'm happy about that, but at the same time, if I watched an ad, I can earn power-ups. But, that doesn't exist either. I am at a complete loss. I looked it up on Google, but did not find any results about that. But, I am not one to give up. I'm going to keep on searching, until I find out how my rivals are getting so many power-ups. What am I overlooking? What am I missing? What do I have to do to get more power ups? 🤔

Stephen Robinson

SocialStephen.com

LinkPo.st/SocialStephen

Friday Afternoon

Friday, July 19th, 2024

It's Friday! Well, no reason to celebrate. I'm working tomorrow too. I don't normally work on Saturdays, but I'm doing it tomorrow. I will probably be hauling asphalt to some faraway land. But either way, it's very good money. Lots of overtime. And I'm very happy about that. I'm still working on my retirement. Even though driving a dump truck is relatively easy work, I don't want to do it for the rest of my life. And so, I started an e-commerce website. linkpost.me. And that is going to be my nest egg. Along with email marketing. And any other type of income that I would enjoy working on at home. 

In the meantime, it is slow going. A very slow progress. But, I am learning a lot about SEO. I know that I need to blog. On my website and independent blogs. And, with the help of AI, I will be able to do that. The only thing missing now is topics and more time. It's just too bad I don't have more help. Seriously. If I just had one other person to help me with blogging, while I kept my full-time job, then I would be able to earn money and pay the bills, while building wealth in online business. Both in e-commerce and email marketing.

Stephen Robinson

SocialStephen.com

LinkPo.st/SocialStephen

It Happened Again

This is becoming the norm. The shuttle buggy is broke down again. And, here I sit, in the cab of this dump truck, with a load of hot asphalt. Among all the other trucks in line, also loaded with asphalt, waiting to dump out. Rain is coming. Yes, that is also becoming the norm here. It seems that it rains every day here. Worse than the wetlands. Worse than the swamps. Worse than the rainforest. The rain does not always hit the job site, but it definitely gets close. It makes it very hard to get this job finished. With all the rain, and a barely working shuttle buggy, this job is taking forever. But all I could do is deal with it. 

Update: They have removed the basket from the spreader machine. They are going to park the shuttle buggy, and we are going to dump directly into the spreader machine. This is also starting to become the norm. Don't get me wrong. I'm not complaining. I get paid the same, regardless of what happens. I'm just sharing my thoughts, and nothing more. At this rate, I might get one more load after this, and call it a day. And then, of course, the long drive back home. It is 151 p.m. now, I might get back to the shop by 5:30 p.m. give or take. 

I have the energy to stop at walmart, after work, and shop for rubber wristbands. I just hope I find what I'm looking for.  And of course, while I am at walmart, I am also going to buy some ground beef and some other ingredients for my dinner this evening. Instead of shredded cheese on my burger, I'm going to try cheese slices instead. It should taste better than the shredded cheese. It sucks being alone. But, at least I get to do what I want, when I want, without dealing with anyone else. 

I don't always make the best decisions for my health and my life. There are many times, that I choose happiness over health. I choose delicious food over healthy food. I admit that. I am self-disciplined in a lot of things, but eating the right foods is not one of them. I guess I'm still working on that. One thing I am certain of. Eating poor tasting, healthy food is sad and depressing. I'm already alone everyday, and the only happiness I get is from eating delicious food. Okay, that's just not true. I guess I'm venting right now. There are other things that make me happy too. 

I enjoy watching a good movie. I enjoy watching videos on YouTube. I enjoy blogging and web design. I enjoy learning more about e-commerce. I enjoy writing in my journal. I enjoy chatting with intelligent people. It is rare, but it does happen sometimes. I'm learning more about AI now. How we can benefit me with blogging on my independent blog and my e-commerce blog. And now, I guess I'm mixing happiness with contentedness. They are not interchangeable. But they can feel the same on the outside looking in. 

Stephen Robinson

SocialStephen.com

LinkPo.st/SocialStephen

Another Day Another Breakdown

Tuesday, July 16th, 2024 

Another day on the job, on highway 80, in Bellamy, Alabama. Paving the road. The shuttle buggy broke down. We have already been sitting here in line, with loads of asphalt, waiting to dump out, for the past 90 minutes. Finally, they decide to park the shuttle buggy, and now we are dumping straight into the paver machine. And I told the other drivers, on the CB radio, if push comes to shove, we will dump straight into the paver machine. And sure enough, that is what we are doing. 

On another note, I am tired of fighting with these rubber bands on my wrists. I wanted to go to Walmart yesterday, and buy some wristbands, but, I was much too tired. Hopefully, I will have the energy to go to Walmart today, after work, I just need two freaking wristbands for right now. The rubber bands that are on my wrist right now are old, frail, and falling apart. I just hope that the wristbands that I buy at walmart, are not too loose or too tight. 

On another note, the company finally took down the backwards American flag that was hanging up in front of the silos at the new asphalt plant. I am thankful for that. Because, despite the fact that I told my boss that the flag is backwards, he did not change it. He just left it like that. Until yesterday evening, when they finally decided to take the flag down. I despise inconsideration and stupidity, but ignorance runs a very close third. 

Stephen Robinson

SocialStephen.com

LinkPo.st/SocialStephen

Typical Monday

Here we are again. Highway 80 in Bellamy, Alabama. Paving the road. And once again, some equipment broke down. This time, I think it is the shuttle buggy. But I'm not sure. All I know is that I am in line, with a load of hot asphalt, with the rest of the asphalt trucks, waiting to unload, for 3 hours now. 1:45 p.m. . I thought they fixed the problem and repaired the equipment. They unloaded one truck. And then they stopped again. Apparently, they tried to fix it with rubber bands and bubble gum. Because it is broke down again. 

So here I sit, in the cab of this truck, waiting to get back to work. Thinking about other things. The rubber bands on my wrists are getting frail and are breaking. And I am seriously considering switching from rubber bands to wristbands. If I can just find some wristbands that are meant for straight men and not women. But, let's back up. When I was just a boy, I accidentally thrusted my hand through a glass storm door. And my hand broke the thin glass, and a piece of jagged glass cut my arm all the way down, from my inner wrist, to my inner elbow.

When they stitched up my arm, they connected the stitches to my hand. And now, both of my wrists are very sensitive to the touch. And that is why I wear rubber bands on my wrists. Because it helps with the sensitivity. I can rub up against things such as the steering wheel of this truck, and it does not affect the sensitivity of my wrists. But, as I said before, my rubber bands are now getting old and frail. They are starting to break apart, and I would have to buy more rubber bands to replace them. 

So, my newest idea, is to get rid of the rubber bands completely, and get wristbands instead. I did some online shopping for wristbands, and I'm not impressed. I don't know why they are all bright colors. They look like gay pride wristbands. It's pathetic and ridiculous. I need to find some wristbands that are for a straight man. I will keep looking. 

Stephen Robinson

SocialStephen.com

LinkPo.st/SocialStephen

The Secret is Out

Wednesday, July 10th, 2024 

Back on July 3rd, ST Bunn, the company I work for, hung a huge American flag in front of the silos of the new plant. I wrote all about it, in a post on this blog here. Anyway, the flag is still up. And the flag is still backwards. I told my boss about it this morning, and he was surprised to see that I am right. The flag is backwards. I just hope that he does something about it and flips it around like it should be. I will find out when I get back today. 

Stephen Robinson

SocialStephen.com

LinkPo.st/SocialStephen

Hot And Sticky

Wednesday, July 10th, 2024 

Today, I am working in Bellamy again. I am hauling asphalt from the Demopolis asphalt plant to highway 80 in Bellamy. Only this time, things are different. The asphalt formula isn't right. It's too sticky. Much too sticky. It is a hot and sticky mess. All the drivers are complaining that the asphalt is sticking very bad to the inside of their bed of their truck. It seems, no matter what type of non-stick formula that we use, the asphalt sticks every time. This is going to be a big problem. All day long. 

Of course, I have only the best non-stick formula sprayed into the bed of this truck. But that does not guarantee that it will not stick. In fact, based on what the other drivers are saying, it is almost guaranteed that I am going to have a hot and sticky mess in the bed of this truck, after I dump out. But! All I can do is deal with it. Do my best, as always, to keep the asphalt from sticking to the bed of the truck. Even if I have to spray more of the non-stick formula for every load, than that is what I will do.

I have dealt with this before. Oh yeah! In fact, Just 2 years ago, we were repaving the Tuscaloosa airport. The asphalt was sticking like hot Taffy. It was very bad. With the bed all up in the air, the asphalt would very, very slowly roll down the bed, like those old sticky toys that you would throw at a window, and watch it slowly roll down the window. Wow! That brought back memories!

Update: 1 hour later. I don't know what the other drivers are complaining about. The asphalt is not sticking in the bed of the truck. 99% of it is sliding out. In fact, it is very easy to maintain. Just as easy as all the other times I have hauled asphalt to this job. There is nothing wrong with the formula. Everything is fine. Just another ordinary day, but this time the CB radio is filled with complaints and over exaggeration, obviously.

Moving on. I need to find an effective and inexpensive way to promote my website. Google isn't helping. When I use keywords such as URL shortener, I get what seems to be every other link shortening website except for mine in the Google search results. I definitely need to rethink the SEO keywords. I will use AI to create more comprehensive SEO keywords to use in my website and blog. Not that I think it would help, but it might. I just don't understand why Google will not index my domain name. It has to have https:// at the beginning of it, for it to show up in the search results.

And everyone knows that when people are searching for a domain name on google, they do not include the https:// in their search. It pisses me off so much that I cannot figure out why my domain name alone, is not in the Google search result. I do not know what needs to be done to stop it from doing that. I'm still bound and determined to find out though. I just need to do more research. I have already searched high and low, why a naked domain name does not show up on Google without the https:// in front of it. Cannot get any good results. And definitely no answers. 

I'm not giving up. I'm never giving up. I will keep trying until I get the answer.

Stephen Robinson

SocialStephen.com

LinkPo.st/SocialStephen

The Ignorance of Many

 Today is the 4th of July, 2024. Yesterday, before I finished work, I seen that people hung a gigantic American flag in front of the silos of the new plant, at ST Bunn. I appreciate their patriotism, their passion for America, the money that they spent, and the time and effort that was put forth, to hang the American flag in front of the silos at the new plant. But! The ignorance! The incredible amount of ignorance by many. The flag is hung backwards. As shown in the image below. Why!?

Why would anyone hang the flag backwards? It is a disgrace and disrespectful to our country. No, you cannot convince me that it was an accident. This was pure ignorance. There were so many employees helping to hang this huge flag. And no one spoke up? No one said it was backwards? No one? I know that if just one person spoke up, and said that the flag is backwards, then they would have flipped the flag around right. But everyone that seen this huge flag hanging down in front of the silos, said nothing. It was complete ignorance.

How do I know that it is backwards? Very simple. Turn the image sideways, to landscape view, and it looks like this. 

Do you see it now? It's backwards! I flipped the image below, so you can see how it should be hung. This is how it should look.

So that, when it is turned to landscape view, it will look like this. 

Try to imagine, how simple it would have been, to just take a second, to imagine what the flag would look like in landscape view, and they would have seen right away, that the flag is backwards. But, no one! Company wide! Seen it, or said anything about it. Because it is still backwards today. 

Happy 4th of July 😡

Stephen Robinson

SocialStephen.com

https://linkpost.me

linkpo.st/SocialStephen

Boring Day At Work

The Demopolis asphalt plant broke down again today. But this time, it broke down before we even got started. No trucks got loaded. And, all of the trucks have been sitting here, waiting to get loaded, for 4 hours. Currently, I am searching for new ways to promote my new website. Such as CEO keywords to improve website indexing and search, and online directories. 

Later, they were not able to repair the Demopolis asphalt plant. And so, all the drivers went to the Howton pit to get a load of screenings. The ST Bunn drivers took the load of screenings to the new plant. While the Tiger drivers took their loads of screening to Demopolis. It is now 3:11 p.m. Monday afternoon. July 1st, 2024, and I have already dumped the load of screenings at the new plant, and I am now sitting next to the #7 pile, waiting for a loader to load me with #7, so that I can take that to the new plant.

Not bad for a Monday. I don't feel tired yet. And so, when I get home from work, I will be going over my notes, and taking care of certain things that I feel I could do today. I will cook a decent meal for myself, and I might even stop at the store on my way home from work, and buy some sugar-free, caffeine free soda. Although, I am trying to just stick with water. Meat, eggs, water. Blah blah blah. 

It's not much of a life, but unfortunately, the way that the human body works, everything else besides meat, eggs, and water, is bad for me. Especially at my age. 55 years old, and not getting any younger. I need to get serious soon, about taking special care of my health both mentally and physically. Some people will say that I am standing on a landmine, by investing in an e-commerce website. It's going to take some time, but I know it will do well someday. I just need to be patient. And promote the hell out of it. Use AI. Everyone else is. 🤔

Stephen Robinson

SocialStephen.com

LinkPost.me

LinkPo.st/SocialStephen

The Demopolis Asphalt Plant Broke Down Today

It was just an average day today, at work. Hauling asphalt from the Demopolis plant to highway 80 in Bellamy. And then, the asphalt plant broke down. All trucks, including me, parked for 2 hours, with nothing better to do, waiting for the asphalt plant to be fixed. We chatted on the CD radio for a while, but eventually it went silent. I play the game on my phone, and took some notes. Collaborated and transferred notes around. And now I am writing this. 

It is Friday, June 28th, 2024 and I am ready for the weekend. Julie has not called me yet, asking me if I will work tomorrow. But I am expecting that phone call. Of course, I will say yes, because I want and need the extra money. But I would rather have two days off work, to relax my mind and body.  On another note, so to speak, I finally chose a note taking program and app, as my default notes taking program and app. 

And, it wasn't what I was expecting at all. Microsoft OneNote. I know, right? It was the lowest on the totem pole. I never thought I would ever choose it. I still use ColorNote for quick notes on my homepage of my phone. But when it comes to writing my thoughts down, writing ideas down, tasks to do, yeah, Microsoft OneNote. It's the bomb. 

I weighed all the options. Looked at all the different features on all the different apps. And I couldn't believe it. Lowest on the totem pole. Shaking my head. Microsoft OneNote wins hands down. That app, that I thought was just too simple and had no features, is slap damn full of features, organization, and ease of use.

Mind Blown

SocialStephen 

linkpo.st/SocialStephen

Passing Around Stupid Pills

Someone is passing around stupid pills at work today. Honestly, I have not seen this much condensed amount of stupidity in one place. Tim could clearly see that there were 15 trucks front to back that needed to pull forward, before the spreader machine ran right up our ass. Did he go to his truck, and move his truck forward? 

No! He stood there talking to other drivers, while the spreader machine is running up our ass. So, I got out of my truck, and I said to him, we are packed in like rats here, please pull your truck forward. And he said, packed in like rats huh? 

I said, yeah! Do you see how close these trucks are to each other? Do you see that the spreading machine is coming up on a large group of trucks that are packed in tight together, very fast? Do you see that? Will you please pull forward. Finally! It's sunk in! And he walked to his truck and pulled his truck forward. 

I don't understand what type of convincing is needed, to trigger the common sense needed, to see that these trucks do not need to be packed in so closely like this. Pull forward! Spread out! Stop the damn spreader machine from running up the next truck's ass! Bushel baskets full of stupidity! 😡

On another note, it is Friday, May 10th, 2024. And I am ready for this day to be over. I am ready to start the weekend. I have some great plans that involve mean earning money. And, I'm going to learn, take notes, plan, organize, and take action. Absofreakinlutely!

- Social Stephen

Linkpo.st/SocialStephen

www.SocialStephen.com

So Far So Easy

Another easy morning at ST Bunn. I am here, with 4 other drivers, at a stockpile, off of highway 43, in Northport, Alabama. We are all loaded and waiting to get started. Dooley is having a meeting with state officials, about this road job. And we are instructed to stay here, at the stockpile location, until the meeting is finished, and they are ready to get started. 

Most of the job is already finished. We only have about a mile left to go. And the job will be finished. And we will be able to move on to another job. We all worked late yesterday, I clocked out at 7:40 p.m. . And I got home about 8:15 p.m. . I did not stay awake too long. I went to sleep about 10:00 p.m. . I got plenty of sleep, and I feel fully rested this morning. 

I already paid the rent. And I already made the pickup truck payment last week. The only bills that are left now are the utility bills. I also paid for the server cost, to keep my website up and running. The email marketing website is going to be another $30, in about 10 days. I have it. I will pay it. The email marketing business that I just recently started looks very promising. I hope to do very well at it. But I still have a lot to learn about sending email using the can-spam compliancy and proper etiquette. 

I'm also having trouble finding good affiliate offers. Most of them is just junk. It does not work. And it is overpriced. It is very hard to find an offer that is worthy of advertising in an email. But, I must not give up. I must keep looking. I will try other affiliate program websites. Hopefully, I will find a good one that I can use on a regular basis. 

Stephen Robinson

SocialStephen.com

LinkPo.st/SocialStephen

It Took 3 Months

After 3 months of learning, trying different methods, and changing settings, and editing and adding DNS records, I have finally discovered that the reason my business emails are going into other people's Spam folders, is not my fault. It is nothing that I did, or needed to do. The IP address that was assigned to me, by the hosting company Colohouse, was already being blocked by another spam monitoring company called SORBS. They blocked the IP address back in November of 2023. 

I did not start my account with Colohouse until February of 2024. And so, this means that the IP address that Colohouse assigned to me, when I signed up for the hosting package, was already being blocked by SORBS before they assigned it to me. And, for 3 months! 3 fucking months! I racked my brain, trying to figure out why my emails are going into other people's Spam folders for no reason. 

As it turns out, there was a good reason. And it's not my fault. And was never my fault. It is Colohouse's fault, and I should take legal action against them, for not checking the IP address to see if it was being blocked by any spam monitoring companies. They said, they will put a request to delist the IP address from SORBS. I will need to wait 48 hours for other people to get off their big fat asses, and remove the IP address from the blacklist on SORBS. 

After they FINALLY remove the IP address from the blacklist, I will be able to turn verification emails back on, and also send out newsletters to the members of my website. Knowing, that my emails will be sent to their inboxes. It took a long time to figure out, and nobody offered help at all, to give me advice, as to what might be the reason why my emails are getting sent to spam. I had to figure it out all by myself. 

That, accompanied with a full-time job, as a dump truck driver for an asphalt company, it doesn't leave me with much time to figure shit out. But the little bit of time that I did have, I was able to do research online, and find out through MXtoolbox, the reason why my emails are going to the spam folder. That is when I learned about SORBS.

And the rest, as they say, is history 

- Stephen

LinkPost.me

Working Late Today

May 1st, 2024, 6:25 p.m. 

Working late today, shooting Rock on highway 43. I'm pretty sure it's going to be dark by the time we get back to the shop. But, I still want to stop at the store and buy some more noodles and some Chicago steak seasoning.

Stephen Robinson
SocialStephen.com
LinkPo.st/SocialStephen

Average Day

I just arrived home. 4:20 p.m. and it was just an average day at work. Nothing special. The joint of my thumb on my left hand hurts for some reason. I don't know why. I can only hope that the pain goes away soon.

On my way home from work, I aired up all the tires on the pickup truck. They're all 44 psi now.