Hazardous tissue holders
Here’s a “haz mat” story that is of interest not only to people in the cargo transport industry, but also to consumers in general. The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Administration PHMSA has been notified that Bed Bath and Beyond sold a number of tissue holders in the United States, identified as the Dual Ridge Metal tissue holder, model number DR9M, that emit low levels of radiation. PHMSA and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission believe that there is no immediate danger to the public; however, PHMSA is advising persons in possession of the contaminated tissue holders that they should arrange with Bed Bath and Beyond for their safe return. Any person in possession of this item should call Bed Bath and Beyond at 1-(800) 462-3966 to obtain information about the proper return procedures.
New HOS
Looks like the latest final rule for new Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations on hours of service may stick. Landline Magazine reports that parties in the most recent lawsuit challenging the regulation have agreed to dismiss the lawsuit. However, that doesn’t mean that a new lawsuit won’t be filed, and it might. Numerous parties are still not happy with the 11th hour of driving.
The driver shortage strikes again!
Check out this story from the Web site of the Altoona Mirror regarding the need for drivers with commercial driver’s licenses. If you’d like to get a jump start preparing to take your CDL tests, we suggest that you look into our iPhone app, BUMPER TO BUMPER® Easy CDL.
Apply for scholarship
High school seniors still have time to submit their applications for financial assistance from the OOIDA Mary Johnston Scholarship fund, announced Landline Magazine, the official publication of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association. The deadline for applications is Wednesday, Feb. 1, for the 2012-2013 school year. Interested applicants should contact the OOIDA Membership Department at 800-444-5791 and ask for either Sylvia Dodson or Marion Case. The OOIDA scholarship fund was established in 1998 to help the children, grandchildren and legal dependents of dues-paying OOIDA members achieve their dreams of going on to college or trade school. Scholarship winners are selected based on grades, extracurricular activities, and a 500-word essay. The committee awards one first-place scholarship for $2,000 and four $1,000 awards, which can be renewed for up to four years.
SOPA and PIPA
In this space, usually we write about commercial cargo transport legislation. This is about another type of proposed regulation. Lots of Internet sites are blacked out today or otherwise participating in a protest against the proposed SOPA and PIPA legislations which have to do with the Internet. We’re all for intellectual property right protection but it appears that these regulations could too easily be misused and abused. You may want to take some time out today to read up on them and see what you think. Here’s one place to start: http://
Reminder: hang onto that paper
Here’s a reminder: the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will require until January 30, 2014 that interstate drivers subject to the commercial driver’s license (CDL) regulations and the Federal physical qualification requirements must retain paper copies of their medical examiner’s certificate. Interstate motor carriers are also required to retain copies of their drivers’ medical certificates in their driver qualification files. So if you go to renew, upgrade, transfer or otherwise change your license, after Jan. 30 you will have to provide proof of medical certification. Your state can decide if the medical examiner’s “long form” or the actual medical certificate will be required, so check with your state commercial driver licensing agency to see what you’ll need to bring.
Hours of service
The anticipated final rule on the hours of service has been published in the Federal Register. Read all about it here.
Spruce up your work space
This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Contest Factory for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.
Most days, my work space is a chaotic mess. I can’t even see my desktop for the piles of mail, stacks of file folders, reminders on sticky notes and scraps of paper that litter it. Not unlike this guy’s:
So this contest caught my attention: it’s “Pimp My Cube.” Contest Factory is searching for the worst, most pathetic and messy cubicle or office that may have bad furniture, old technology, messy, unorganized, noisy, dirty, dark and/or any other attributes that make it a bad space to work in. Sounds like mine.
Want to enter the contest? Just upload a video showing your cube/office/workspace while you explain the details about why it is horrible and why it is so important that Contest Factory come in and ‘Pimp’ your cube. You could win the prize to update your office/workspace/cube with one of three prize packages:
o New high end computer system
o New Desk, Chair and Decorations
o New Entertainment Package with high end stereo, espresso machine etc.
The contest has a total grand prize value of approximately $1200. A second sweepstakes prize of a $200 gift card will be awarded to the registered user chosen by random drawing at the end of the contest period.
Once your video is entered, you invite your friends, family and coworkers to vote for your video. You get sweepstakes entry points for registering, voting, commenting and inviting others to register for the contest. Right now no has uploaded a video so the chances of winning are very good.
The grand prize of your cube being ‘pimped’ will be selected by CF judges based on various criteria including for the most votes, best (really worst) video and most compelling story.
Your video should be fun and witty – anything goes!! The better the story, the funnier the video – better chances of winning. · It is easy to upload video to the site to enter from your phone or webcam.
The contest period is from 12/5/11 at 12:00 p.m. to 1/31/12 at 12:00 p.m. So get that camera rolling and don’t even bother to straighten up first!
Pimp My Cube Contest Check out the PMC Web site. Register and upload videos to enter in the contest. Once your video is approved, have your friends and family vote on your video to enhance your chances of winning.
One less thing to worry about
This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Norton Small Business by Symantec for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.
It’s often said that small businesses are the backbone of the American economy, and it could likewise be said that technology is the backbone of any small business. Perhaps it’s eye-opening then that almost six out of ten small business owners (59 percent) admitted to having experienced some sort of malware (malicious software on their computer) in the past three years, and half of them (51 percent) had to pay an expert to resolve the problem.
We know several business and even individuals who had their work and lives disrupted by computer viruses, security breaches, identify theft incidences and the like. We hope we’re not jinxing ourselves by saying we’ve been lucky and have had only minor problems.
Not surprising: we’ve also been using antivirus (AV) software for years. We have had an occasion or two when an unauthorized attempt to access our computer has been made. It’s been reassuring to get an alert from the AV software and a report that the virus has been quarantined.
Tales of destructive malware are rampant. Anyone who spends any time on the Internet, whether for business or personal use, and who doesn’t take safety measures is operating under a false sense of security.
Two products that Norton released this past September, Norton 360 and the Norton Internet Security 2012, protect the user from online attacks and scams and prevent theft of confidential information. Norton Internet Security 2012 also secures logins and passwords (which can be stolen).To encourage small business owners to look into Norton’s security products, especially the 5U/10U products, Norton is offering a 30% discount. For more information about this, click this link: get 30% off Norton Small Business Products now
Check out all the Norton Small Business by Symantec products. We invite you to leave us a comment letting us know which Norton product would most benefit you and why.
Cell phone ban update
The Federal Motor Ccarrier Safety Administration and Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration are amending the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) and the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR) to restrict the use of hand-held mobile telephones by drivers of commercial motor vehicles (CMVs). This rulemaking will improve safety on the Nation’s highways by reducing the prevalence of distracted driving-related crashes, fatalities, and injuries involving drivers of CMVs. The Agencies also amend their regulations to implement new driver disqualification sanctions for drivers of CMVs who fail to comply with this Federal restriction and new driver disqualification sanctions for commercial driver’s license (CDL) holders who have multiple convictions for violating a State or local law or ordinance on motor vehicle traffic control that restricts the use of hand-held mobile telephones. Additionally, motor carriers are prohibited from requiring or allowing drivers of CMVs to use hand-held mobile telephones. This rule is effective Jan. 3, 2012. For details, go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for the terms “FMCSA-2010-0096” or “PHMSA-2010-0227.”
