Tampa Taxi Shots

Arch Deal An Intrepid Skydiver

Arch Deal Of WFLA

If you are a transplant to Tampa you may not know the name Arch Deal. He was the news anchor at WFLA channel 8 from 1958 - 1976, He pioneered on air interviews during a time of stodgy newscasting. In fact, he had a famous on air interview with President Kennedy when he visited Tampa just four days before he died.

Deal was good about getting people to open up to him.. He was smart, personable, well liked and an overall good guy with a love of life. He did have an exciting passion. Arch Deal loved to skydive.

Deal was a professional sky diver with thousands of jumps under his belt. He was almost as famous for his jumping as he was for being a news anchor with a golden voice. In fact, it was his golden voice that gave him away on the television show To Tell The Truth.

He was on the show in 1971 and the panel had no trouble in picking out because of his voice and his relaxed demeanour under the lights with this sky diving suit on. In 1975 Arch was doing a promotional jump at Cypress Gardens when his main parachute failed to open. He hit the ground after falling 3,000 feet. Nobody had ever survived a fall from that height. That is why rescue took its time in finding Arch. They took over 30 minutes to get to him and amazingly, he was alive.

Rescue workers find Arch Deal in an orange grove alive

He had broken almost every bone in his body. He later accounted a near death experience while laying in the orange grove. He talked about seeing a white light and a calm feeling coming over hm. Perhaps it was just not hiss time.

Arch would later leave WFLA for mostly political reasons. They never liked his passion for sky diving and nobody at the television station ever visited Arch when he was in the hospital. That was just wrong.

Arch moved on to another station and would eventually become a corporate spokesman. He has written a book about his adventures called "Corporate Fall Guy."

A New Tampa Bay Blog

I am proud to announce my new web blog about Tampa Bay called Tropic Of Tampa. It will have many post about sports and events happening in Tampa. There will be many links for people to like, including hot babes and such.

It is a work in progress and I am finding my way. This should give me more lattitude in subject mattter instead of just posting about drunks that throw up or just misehave. Who cares.

People want to know what is going on in Tampa expecially since the Republican Convention will be here in 2012. 

Tampa has a reputation for being a very fun town. I do not want the tourist being dissapointed in any way. They can contact me and I will show them how they can have a good time. That is whatever they want. Tampa is the place to be.

Do you love golf? you have come to the right place. Do you love beachers? Of course. Tampa has everything you could want.

Computers Were Down For A While...We Had To Use Voice

When the computers went down at Unied Cab for a while, Ruben had to dispatch calls the way we used to do it - by voice. I had no idea how slow that was in getting calls out. Thre are drivers that cannot understand English, so dispatch has to repeat constanly what they are saying. Guys will lie about their location; calls get backed up. This is not a good way to get calls off the board.

When the computer came back up, you could tell a world of difference. This system is here to stay. When you consider the additional features, such as atomatic text messages to alert customers of the taxi's arrival, how can you beat this. 

We will have this system for the first season coming up in the Fall/Winter season. I can't wait. All things being the same with the economy, I beleive I will make much more money. I am really looking forward to that. 

It has been a long road to go. I started this blog in 2005 and by 2007 the recession hit. Many of my post for the last four years have been dire and depressing. Sorrry about that. I really do want to move onto a more postive footing about cab drivng and my taxi stories. 

Hurricane Donna 1960

Hurricane Danna in 1960 was one of the most powerful storms to hit the mainland United States. She was a catagory 5 storm that took a simular path of Charley and Irene. She went into the Gulf of Mexico, and then turned back to the East. She did leave her mark on Florida

Donna casued considerble damage to the Tampa area. Even to this day if you drive out to the East side of Hillsborough county, you will see the canals that were built to prevent flooding in the future in case of another storm. 

I was a little kid living in Newport News Virginia at the time and I remember awaking on a Saturday morning and seeing and heard the wind blowing outside. The neighbors roof had shingles flying off of it. My mother had a window cracked because it was believed at the time that it reduced air preasure. We now know that is the worst thing you can do.

These storms can be very strong and the people in the New York and Boston area may not fully understand this fact. it has been fifty years since Donna, and most of the poepole up there are not old enough to rember her. They are used to Noreasters but those storms do not compare to a hurricane. 

One thing I am hopping for is his storm could be boost to the economy because of the rebuilding that will be needed. It could provide jobs and get things going at a time when people are out of answers.

Don't Give Money To This Guy - He Is Running A Scam

If you live in south Tampa or drive North on Howard avenue at the intersection of Kennedy and Howard, you have seen this guy. He is doing what they call on the streets "flying a sign." In short, he is begging for money. He has been on this corner for over a year. That is ridiculous.

Hell, I remember last Christmas season he was wearing a Santa hat (What cedar chest did he pull that out of?)

He is out here all day long. he never misses a day. I know this for a fact because O never miss a day of work. If a guy can show up every day to do this, can he not hold a job? He is older then me, so I am sure he is getting a Social Security check. This must be his supplemental income plan.

His sign claims he is homeless, looking for work, hungry, and other things. None of this is true.

The Shell station on this corner has tried to get rid of him. He is aggressive with their customers. He ask for money and cigs. He won't leave people alone. 

They have called the cops on this guy  They do not want a permanent fixture in front of their store being this guy claiming to be a bum and in need of money.

HE IS NOT HOMELESS....HE LIVES IN A NICE APARTMENT IN SO HO...HE HAS A MAC IPHONE WITH SEVERAL PEOPLE ON HIS PLAN A(i know this for a fact..I'm a cab driver..I hear things).

He is running a scam. Plus, his is an asshole. He calls the Shell station and insults the people working there because they have had him tresspassed from the property. 

He waves at people and smiles.he thinks he is being charming. I think he is high. I see this type of behaviour and mannerisms all day long as a cab driver. 

There are real homeless people but he has a claim to the most lucrative corner in Tampa. This is wrong. I know for a fact construction and lawn service guys have offered him a job and he said he cannot work for ten bucks an hour. WTF!

Please Tampa...Stop giving this con man money.

Paying The Man

I had to go to the Downtown Tampa courthouse today. I really did not want to but I was in a little bit of trouble, and could not allow this to go much further. I had an outstanding ticket that needed to be paid. I drive for living so I needed to take care of this fast.  None of this was my fault because I was a victim of circmstances, and a ticket hungry cop.

Last February I picked up a fare at Memorial Hospital in south Tampa.It was around sunrise on a Sunday morning. The fare came out and he had a black eye. It really looked like someong had beat his ass. He said a cop did it to him . I did not beleive his story.                                                                                                      

In a situation in which a police officer would have to use such force, the guy probably would have been arrested. Moreover, they don’t send Baker Acts to Memorial Hospital. There is an intake center on the east side of town for that. Another thing that made me nervous was he was paying cash. A rule of thumb about Emergency rooms in the early mornings is the fare, for whatever reason, never has any money.

He was not going very far, so I decided to take the risk. I started heading down Henderson boulevard toward Gandy. The guy was sitting behind me and starting to act a little weird. There are many things the cab driver must focus on while driving to ensure safety. Unfortuanlty, looking over our shoulder at a stranger sitting behind us can cause a distraction and I was distracted.

I saw the blue lights in my rearview mirror and thought they must be for someone else. I was wrong.

The cop pulled up right behind me and I put on my turn signal while I pulled over.
I wanted to tell the police officer that I had a weirdo in the back seat and plead mitigation under these circumstances but I saved my breath. When cops stake out certain intersections on a quite Sunday morning - The Are Going to Write a Ticket. That is the only reason they are there. They are reviewed like any other employer on any other job. He has a quota to meet and there is no better way to get cheap tickets then lay in wait when nobody is on the roads, and by definition, nobody is in danger. 

He gave me a ticket for going 50 in a 35 zone. The cop was wrong. The speed limit on Henderson is 40. The cop lied on the ticket and I was not going to let him get away with it. I decided to take it to court, and I did. 
The judge agreed with me because he lives in south Tampa and was familiar with that stretch of road.

He did, however, lower it to going ten miles an hour over the speed limit instead of fifteen. That meant a $240 ticket was reduced to $120. The judge even cut that in half, withheld adjudication, withheld points, and gave me sixty days to pay the fee and court cost. This is the kicker. Court Cost are $93...wow! I still won, sort of. 

You can see in the photo that I had until August 12, to pay the fine. I hate August. Nothing good happens in August. That is the slow time of year down here for the service industry and August puts the slow in slow season. Bottom line was I could not come up with the money. 

I finally made some good money today because of the Special Forces convention that is town this week, and got down to the courthouse to pay the fine. 

They told me my driver’s license would have been suspended on September 13 if I had not paid it today. I forked over the 173 bucks. That hurt.

I hope you are happy Mr. Police Officer. Is that all you have to do is screw with law-abiding people. Was it that important to do this to me? There is a recession gong on and I really needed to use that money for other things. 

Go shake down a real bad guy you punk.

 

There Is Something I Need to Do Tuesday

There is something very important that needs to be done Tuesday. Its nothing bad, or like I'm in trouble or something. It may be in trouble, but I doubt it. I just need to take care of something. Times are bad and Peter needs to be robbed to pay Paul.

I really don't want this, but it must be done. I don't like letting people down, but it is not avoidable. I will let you know more about it soon....a lot more about it. 

I have had real problems in my life before, seemingly impassible rivers in life. Moments when fording ahead cannot be done. The real problems of life involve loss. A divorce or a death of a loved one is something you can only just deal with. There is no way you can buy your way out of it. Problems involving money are not real problems. They can be solved in an instant. 

I'll be glad when the recession is over. I just want to move forward and start back on all the projects that are important to me. Just need some money, that is all. 

Nobody is sick or dead, just this economy we live in. Recessions steal and rob you. They take you spirit if you let it. Sometimes it just beats you down. 

Anyway, I will let you know more soon. 

United Cab Has A New Gas Policy

This notice is posted on the front door to United Cab: "All drivers be aware you will need to bring money for gas.Due to the fact that 95% of all cabs come back empty. We are changing our policy of FULL TO FULL when leasing a cab to a EMPTY TO EMPTY GAS POLICY. All drivers should bring money for gas when changing a cab and when leasing one."

Wow! I can tell you what is going on here. The economy sucks, and drivers come in to work a tweleve hour shift, and at the end, they have $40 left. They realize it will take $40 to fill the tank but they need the money; so they turn it in empty (They are also dirty...they guys don't have the 75 cents to use a vac). 

Take a look at the photo of the United Cab lot and it is full of cabs. I don't think they can get another one on it. Just remember, none of them have any gas in them and they are dirty as hell. I think the general public expects and should get better then a cab on empty and dirt all over the floor, and a driver wearing dirty clothes. 

This is clearly a sign of the times we live in. It has never been this bad. The stimulas plan has failed to stimulate anythiing down here. I am glad the Republican Convention will be down here next year. I will like to ask those Republicans what they plan to do to get things moving again. No matter what you think, the economy is stuck on empty, just like the gas tanks at United Cab.

A United Cab In Need Of Oil

The taxi I am driving has over 300,000 miles on it. The shop changes the oil every month as specified by the the owners manual. These cars will run for almost eternity. They do, however, start to use oil. That is what is happening with my cab.

 The fare I picked up said they could smell oil burning. After I dropped them off, I checked the oil and I could see I needed at least one quart. Considering the oil had been changed last week, that meant I was burning oil. In the sixteen years I have been with United Cab of Tampa, I have never had a new car.

 I see other drivers get a new car every year and I wonder why they treat me any kind of way. I need to ask Paul Hinton That. I would like to have a new taxi by the Fall time of the year.

 You can see a taxi with its hood up at an Advance Auto Parts store on Dale Mabry is not good advertising for the cab company. We need to build up riders who have confidence in the ability of us to get them to where they are going.

 

Location of downtown Tampa surveillance cameras will be kept from the public

The city of Tampa will be hosting the 2012 Republican Convention that will nominate Gov. Rick Perry of Texas.

The city of Tampa is very concerned with security, but they are making certain assumptions about the guest. They believe that many of the people who will be expressing their constitutional rights to assemble will be criminals. That is why they are installing cameras in secret because they don't want anyone to know they are there.

This is an outrage and I have a license to drive a cab and I have the right to NOT have a fucking camera aimed at me. This totalitarian thinking cannot be allowed. I hope the people assemble in mass.

I know that if a riot breaks out, they will want to be able to identify the perpatrators. Of couse, we all want that. But you can't put cameras up to film people without thier consent. Sorry Republicans, this is the United States of America and I have certain rights. Even Alex Jones on his website Prison Planet picked this story up.

"Whether it's the Republicans or the Democrats, conventions are almost always a flashpoint for police and protestors. At the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis in 2008, some 800 protestors, reporters and bystanders were arrested.

Our local law enforcement is hoping for much less conflict when the GOP comes to Tampa next summer. Toward that end, Tampa police will be employing a ring of surveillance cameras to be installed around downtown and the convention center.

"There are going to be a lot of people in downtown and we don't have enough police officers to keep eyes everywhere, so we think the cameras will assist us in keeping people safe by giving us more eyes to view what's going on," said assistant Tampa Police Chief, Mark Hamlin."

via www.abcactionnews.com

The problem I have with this is they are hiding the cameras and they are assuming that there will be trouble. It is a political convention and you have police and secret service patrol. The real reason for these cameras in downtown Tampa is to use facial recognition to shake down innocent citizens. The people of Tampa should be outraged and no more tolerate this then the "traffic" cameras they use to raise revenue.

Searching For Communication Along Deep Swamp Powerlines

On the Animal Planet hit show Finding Bigfoot, it was mentioned by the BFRO founder Matt Moneymaker that Bigfoots use powerline routes as pathways to move into new areas without detection. When the finding Bigfoot crew was in North Carolina they were investigating two prints found on a cul-de-sac. Moneymaker noticed the high tension wires behind the houses. He said they home had been built on a Bigfoot transition zone. This may be true but I believe the powerlines may be used for something else. I believe they are used for communication.

They have discovered that the high tension lines can sent knocks for miles along these systems. It is sort of like a "Bigfoot Cell Phone." Many researchers have reported hearing these sounds on powerlines. I have no doubt about that because I have heard and recorded these communications on video and posted them on YouTube.

On Saturday I got an opportunity to get into an area near the Hillsborough River that leads into the watershed area going into the Green Swamp. I can hear two knocks and a metallic scrape. Many people are  now figuring these creatures out.

 

Davis Island Sail Boats

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I could do another post about how business sucks or I could show a nice image of a summer day in Tampa Florida. This is a cell phone photo.