Stephen's Personal Journal

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? 🤔

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. 


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



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