Keeping up with your paperwork as you go allows you some much needed time with family and friends when you do get back home.  

But what about your laptop?  Are you doing everything you can to protect yourself against theft?  Sure you may carry insurance on it but what if it is stolen?  Do you have all your data backed up to something else, somewhere else?  Good question, huh!

It is highly recommended that you backup your data to an external source such as a USB / Flash Drive or external hard drive.  Losing all your data can be a nighmare or worse if you have all your personal credit info on your laptop.

In this article I’ll be talking about ways to safeguard your laptop from theft.  Nothing is fool proof, but lets make stealing your laptop something undesirable to a potential thief.

There are several different ways of safeguarding your laptop, whether it’s a Mac or Windows computer.  

First off is a lock and key.   Prices range from $12 - $40 and are an excellent deterrent.  Attach the steel cable, usually 6 feet long, to something permanently part of your truck interior and attach the lock to your computer.  If you are leaving your truck for any reason and not taking your computer with you, be sure it is locked and take the keys with you.  Most thieves want to grab and go.  Not so easy with your computer it attached to your truck.  From what I have read the lock and key methods seems to be the most popular.  There are others with combination locks.  You decide and choose what’s right for you.  If you are taking your laptop with you into a restaurant and want to work while eating, be sure to secure the cable to the leg of the table or something secure where you sit.

Another method of security is alarms and security cameras.  Most of the newer computers are coming with a build-in camera.  So now that you have your laptop physically locked down, you will want to arm your laptop from growing legs say in a restaurant.  Lets say you have stopped for something to eat, stretch your legs and take a break.  While you are at it you want to catch up on some paperwork so you take your laptop into the restaurant with you.  If you walk away from your laptop to visit the buffet or salad bar, who knows if it will be there when you get back.  

You can arm your laptop like some people have a car alarm.  Any movement of your laptop or mouse will start the alarm and bring all sorts of attention to your laptop and whoever is trying to move/remove it.  If you have a build in camera it can act as a security camera that can also activate if someone moves your mouse, touches the mouse pad or keyboard while in alarm mode.  The camera will take a picture and can even be sent elsewhere.  

For window users there is a free application called Laptop Alarm.  For Mac users, there is iAlertU, Gawker or Lockdown.  Check them out if interested.

Worse case is your laptop is stolen.  If you have some sort of security on your laptop it can be tracked the next time the thief tries to use it.  But let’s hope it never comes to that.

A little bit of research and a little money can give you some piece of mind and added security when traveling with your laptop. Easy Truckin is brought to you by Easy Trucking Software. We hope you enjoy it.

 Bouncing down the road day after day, driving your load to the next delivery.  This sometimes gets pretty mindless because you’ve been doing this what seems like forever.  Don’t get me wrong, the average person can’t do what you do safely day in and day out, you are a one-of-a-kind.  What I’m saying is routine sets in after a while and your mind needs some stimulus other than avoiding accidents with other crazy drivers.

After your paperwork is caught up, you’ve had a bite to eat, fueled up, taken a shower, washed cloths, and you have free time, then what.  

Do you like movies or TV programs?  How about setting up your VCR while you are gone to record movies or TV programs that you like but always miss because of being on the road.  Or ask a friend or family member to do this for you.  Then when you return home you have some new programs to take with you when on the next trip.   Bring back the old tapes to recycle for new tapes when home again.  

There are also on-line DVD’s to rent from places such as Netflix.  Pay a monthly flat fee, create your list of movies/TV programs you want to view, they ship the DVD’s to your home, watch them and mail them back from anywhere for new ones in their postage-paid envelopes.  More DVD’s get sent to you as fast as you return them.  

You can watch some TV programs off the internet on your computer for free when you have free time too.  Some of you lucky drivers may even have a satellite dish on your truck and you can view and record programs as well.

Check with other truckers to swap tapes or DVD’s of movies you don’t care to keep that you own.  Some movies are better than others and some you want to keep in your collection.  Swap DVD’s with other truckers and keep passing them around as you want.  

Do you like listening or reading books?  Subscribe for a fee to audio books on-line and download books to your computer to put on an MP3 player for listening.  There is a huge range of books to choose from.  One website comes to mind, audible.com.  I’m sure there are others too.  

Me, I prefer having a book in hand to read.  My problem is after I’ve read it then what.  Most of mine gather dust, or get put in with items to be donated someplace or I pass them along to other friends.  Some books deserve another read just because they were that good, but most times they end up gathering dust until I get around to getting rid of them.  Like the DVD’s, you can swap with other truckers for other paperback books to read.  

The same with magazines.  If you have magazines that pile up, pass them around or swap them with other truckers for something new to read.  Everyone has different tastes in reading material so give it a try and happy swapping.

Easy Truckin is brought to you by Easy Trucking Software. We hope you enjoy it.

 Some truck drivers are very savvy when it comes to surfing the web and running their computers.  Others are just at the start of their journey or someplace in between beginning and experienced.  Everyone has to start some place.  You didn’t suddenly overnight or by reading a book or seeing a movie know how to drive your truck.  It took practice and some time driving to gain the experience you have.  Same is true with learning the computer.  Give yourself a break and some time to learn.

In this article I’m going to cover some basics for those that are needing the help.  The rest of you are welcome to read along just in case there is something new to learn.  

I’m not going to get into how to turn your computer on, I’m pretty sure you already know this.

ANTIVIRUS PROTECTION

An antivirus program will protect your PC and data from any virus coming into your machine and messing/erasing/scrambling your data and possibly wreak havoc with your  hard drive on your PC.

Always, always, always have your antivirus program turned ON!  I can’t stress this enough.  Especially if you are out on the internet and surfing from one site to the next.  You can pick up or open the door for a hitchhiker  to enter into your computer and cause all sorts of problems.  Don’t take a chance, keep your antivirus program running at all times and update your program as updates become available.

When you purchased your computer it probably came with Norton,  McAfee or some similar antivirus program.  If not, beat feet to your nearest big box store of someplace selling computer programs and get yourself an antivirus program and install it.

SPYWARE

Spyware protects your PC from downloads (bugs) coming into your computer spying on your buying habits, websites you visit etc.  This is something invisible running in the background as you surf and not something you can see but you do need to protect yourself from.

Do a search on the internet for Free Spyware and pick one.  Download it and run it weekly.  Unlike an antivirus program, the spyware filter isn’t always engaged, you will need to run a scan of your PC manually by opening the program and running a search.

The first time I downloaded spyware to my PC and ran a scan, I had hundreds of spyware bugs that were removed by my spyware from my PC.  After that, I ran my spyware on a weekly basis and had fewer problems with my PC running slow or getting locked up.  It also cut down on spam to my email too.  

SAFE ON-LINE BUYING 

When you are surfing on the internet and giving out your information to make an on-line purchase be absolutely sure that the website you are on is secure.  How do you know this?  Look in the browser window at the top of your screen for the web address and find where it begins http://   If your site is secure it have the “S” in the https://.  You will also see a padlock in a locked position in either the upper right corner of the page or lower right.  Look around the page just to make sure you see it.  Do this before you give out ANY personal info like your credit card number.  Protect yourself as much as possible to avoid identify theft.  Your personal information should be given on on a need-to-know basis ONLY.

If a website you want to order from does not show you the https:// in the browser window and have a locked padlock on the page, DO NOT enter any of your personal information for a purchase.  Any reputable company doing business on-line will have this information displayed.  Anyone else, get off their website ASAP.  There are other vendors out there to do business with that do have a secure web ordering site.

For some of you truckers this information is all pretty basic but not for others.  I hope this has helped and safe surfing!

Easy Truckin is brought to you by Easy Trucking Software. We hope you enjoy it.

 Summer is in full swing and your truck air conditioner is getting a real workout.  The days of Triple H, not the WWE wrestler either, of hot humid and hazy are here like it or not.  

Running the air conditioner cuts into your fuel cost but is a necessary thing to have to keep your sanity.  A little maintenance every now and then will help head off any potential problems down the road.  

Check the coolant hoses and clamps for any leakage and tighten up the clamps and change hoses as needed. Don’t wait until a full spray begins or you lose something on the road.  By then it may be too late, especially if it fell off.  Don’t forget about checking your coolant too.

Coolant hoses usually last between 8 and 10 years unless they are in extreme high-heat as is the case near the engine block or hot exhaust component.  Those hoses near the engine block may also be a little harder to find.  Find a clamp and you find the hose.    

Hoses needing replacement around every 4 years include the air compressor, oil cooler, and water pump.  Again, don’t wait until you spring a leak or burst a hose completely because of neglect.  You know that according to Murphy’s Law, if something is going to break, it will be at the worst possible time, in the worst possible conditions.   Don’t forget to check the heater hoses and coupling sleeves running to and from the radiator too.

New clamps are always better than using old once but reuse old ones if you must, and secure hoses with black cable ties.  The cable ties are cheap and do a real nice job keeping things from rubbing together and wearing on each other.  If you just can’t tie off a hose and it could be rubbing on something, create a buffer between the hose and whatever it will come in contact with.  Use an old hose you may have handy from your last hose change, slit it open and be careful.  You don’t want to be slitting open fingers.  Position a suitable length of the slit open hose around the clamped hose and use a cable tie to secure the two in place.  You now have created a buffer, just in case the hose moves around.

Fan clutch linings wear out over time, and like everything else should be replaced.  If you have your truck ignition key turned so the fan turns freely and you can see more than a 1/8^th inch gap, your linings are worn and need to be replaced.

And while you are replacing your linings, go ahead and replace the engine belts too.  These should all be replaced about once every year.  With the fan belt off, take hold of the fan clutch and turn it.   If it binds up and/or has any up/down motion, the fan hub bearings could be shot.

Now rebuilding a fan clutch and hub is something you could probably do yourself, at home, following the directions of the rebuild kit.  But you know as well as I that if something is going to go haywire it will be on the road and away from home, and good luck trying to find a rebuild kit on the road. 

Af you see a damaged fan blade that means it time to replace the fan.  Don’t wait, the situation will not improve with age like wine.  Leaving this go could result in the fan getting out of balance and could wreak havoc on the bearings on the fan hub.

These are only a few of the things can could breakdown and cause you a slow burn.  So  keep cool by doing routine maintenance at home and regularly.

Easy Truckin is brought to you by Easy Trucking Software. We hope you enjoy it.

Now that I have your attention and interest, BMI stands for Body Mass Index if you didn’t already know.  Anything over a BMI of 30 starts getting into the obese category and a dangerous health area.

To figure your own BMI number visit any of these or other websites and know where you are on the chart.

http://www.caloriecontrol.org/bmi.html

http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/healthyweight/assessing/bmi/index.htm

http://health.discovery.com/tools/calculators/bmi/bmi.html

Everyone has heard the term BMI at some point in time.  Whether your doctor has mentioned it to you or a significant other or just saw an article while flipping through a magazine.  The body mass index is one of the most accurate ways to key into any potential health risks you may be heading for.  Being aware of your family health history is always a good idea too.  Genetics plays into your weight and physical health.

Starting at the lower end, someone with a BMI of 24 or less is considered of healthy weight.  Having a BMI of 26 to 27 is about 20% overweight with moderate health risks.  A BMI of 30+ is considered obese and increases the risk of heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure.  Having a BMI of 30+ also increases the risk of death from any cause by 50-150%. 

A waist size of over 40 inches for men and 35 inches for women is considered at especially high risk for health problems.  Being overweight slows you down and adds extra strain to your heart and joints.  And the older you get the harder it is to lose weight and the more taxing on your joints and heart.

Those people having a 26+ BMI need to be looking at getting healthier.  I know, eating healthier and getting some exercise can also be a challenge for the truck driver.  You are mostly at the mercy of where you can part your rig to eat.   Eating lean meat, some eggs, peanut butter or certain beans will help keep you full longer because protein burns slower in your body.  Carbohydrates on the other hand burn very quickly and give you a quick rush of energy and then the crash.  Fiber is also a good choice to help keep you full.  Fiber soaks up liquid and gives you a full feeling.  Having some fresh fruit and vegetables not needing refrigeration in your truck makes for a great snack along with high fiber snack bars.  Thinking about food and how hungry you are interferes with your concentration.

Be aware of what you are drinking and how many calories are in those drinks.  Sometimes you just don’t realize that that sweetened ice tea in the handy pop-top can is 86 calories for 8 oz. And I’m sure the can has more than 8 oz of ice tea, probably more like 12 oz which now brings the calorie count to 129 for the entire can.  I think you see where I’m going here.  Check labels on your favorite drinks and snacks you bring into your truck and you decide what changes you do or do not want to make.

Artificial stimulants like coffee/tea (caffein) or over the counter pills are not a healthy choice either.  Too much caffein can jack up your blood pressure and if you don’t know what your blood pressure is to begin with it could be a lethal combination.  

Getting out of the truck and moving around to get some exercise and get your blood pumping to all your extremities is important and wakes you up.  Before climbing back into your truck, take a walk around the parking lot once or twice.  Stretch your arms out over your head and bend from side to side.  You can do sit-ups in your sleeper, truck twists in your seat.  The point is to get the blood moving and help keep your body healthy and increase your rate of breathing from time to time. 

Now don’t go nuts here with starting to run around parking lots when you never did anything like this before.  Start out easy and build endurance.  

The medical website that is one of my favorites is www.webmd.com.  It has loads of info and you can run some diagnostics on yourself if you aren’t feeling the best.   Some truck stops may even have blood pressure testing machines just sitting there that you can use.  Drug stores are also a good source along with Wal-Mart’s across the country.  Every store I have been in has one sitting near their Pharmacy that is FREE to use.

The bottom line is being a trucker doesn’t have to mean you are overweight and inactive.  Taking better care of yourself for you and your family is a good investment.

Easy Truckin is brought to you by Easy Trucking Software. We hope you enjoy it.