Sunrise over Bayshore

A cheap motel, a white tee shirt, and a twenty dollar bill (classic story)

What a cab driver will do to make a living is beyond what most people can handle or comprehend. One thing we do is go into very bad areas of town and pretend it is normal. At least I still think it is normal. Like the Pakistani store owner who sells smokes, beer, lotto tickets and blunts to the people who walk in his door while all the time hoping he doesn't get shot, you begin to think this is normal. I got this call about 4 in the morning today. Things got a little weird. Not to bad, but not what I was expecting. It was the Downtowner Motel, one of Tampa's swankier joints. Its the kind of place that has "weekly rentals" and calls them apartments; imaine what kind of crowd that will draw. The dude was on the balcony and very anxious to get going, a clear sign that someone wants to buy drugs. I guess his buzz has worn off and he needs to get more. He and some chic with sunken cheeks and a glazed stare get in the backseat. They seem to have a bunch of nervous ene...

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Dana Young is a Liar or very confused about Uber

A very bad person with no honor or integrity I attended a meeting at the hockey arena downtown which was attended by all the Tampa Bay area state senators and representatives. In attendance was one Dana Young (R). When it was her time to speak, so told a story about a young women that was being raped. While the college student was being sexually assaulted, the student hit the Uber app on her phone and the police now knew the GPS coordinates of her location. What MS. Young did not disclose was that it happened on the UCLA campus and that it was an UBER DRIVER THAT WAS RAPING HER! "As students prepare to return to college, one thing female students cannot go without is caution. Assaults, especially sexual assaults, are a haunting part of daily life for so many students. Uber has made that nightmare even more of a reality . We tell our students that getting a driver when they’ve had too much to drink is the responsible course of action — it’...

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Lisa Roberts of Lyft had this to say about cab drivers

From Lyft driver Lisa Roberts FaceBook "Sorry these old cab drivers spent so much money, but people spent a lot of money on 8 tracks and DOS computers, which didn't stop technology or progress.  Riders prefer Lyft because our cars smell better, we don't mind short rides, they don't have to argue with us about payment and most importantly, we don't leave them standing on a street in the middle of the night!" Lisa was wrong on all of her points "OLD" - Your no spring chicken yourself "Stop technology or progress" - Breaking the law is not technology . Killing off industries so Lyft drivers have money for pot is not Progress. "Cars smell better" - you can eat off the floor of my cab. It is just that clean. Wait until the late night hipsters puke in your car and tell me how good it smells.  "Argue about payment" - We except many forms of payment. Lyft only takes your credit card. " Sho...

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Xzanthia has moved away

Xzanthia I found this on an old TBT. If you remember back in 2007, I had the honor of shooting Xzanthia in an art nude shoot. The recession hit and I could not keep up my craft. She was a fantastic model and artist and held events at her fathers nudist resort. I now know now she has moved onto other things. I wish her well. Her and her father were top notch. "Through festivals, parties and an artists’-colony sense of camaraderie, the Pasco County performance artist created an enclave of creativity and diversity in Tampa Bay at the Riverboat Nudist Colony in Land O’Lakes. Her work with the band Impotent Sea Snakes , her XBash Music Festival and her legendary foam parties have made her a fixture of Tampa Bay’s underground art scene. But after years spent working to connect and create a community, she has decided to leave. Citing a desire to de-complicate her life and focus on her art, XZanthia is moving away. She remains positive about the Tampa Bay ...

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What happened to Tommy Duncan and Sticks of Fire blog?

The image below is a 2005 TBT article I still have about the Tampa blogger scene. The big boy was Tommy Duncan. He stopped blogging around 2008, and was never seen again. Here is what Creative Loafing said about that era: "The 40-something blogger founded the most-often-cited independent Tampa Bay news blog, Sticks of Fire, in Feb. 2004, and the site, without much financial assistance from advertising, is still going strong today with a stable of more than a dozen regular contributors. In 2005, Duncan was featured in a tbt* story about the young lions of the local Internet. Today, about half of them have fallen by the wayside or (in the case of famous sexy blogger Rachel Moran) moved to New Jersey. Duncan keeps on posting. The local digital scene has grown, but he's not sure it has improved in quality."

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Tampa to continue ticketing Uber and Lyft drivers

Uber Drivers protest the ticketing of drivers It seems the war has only started. The Transportation Commission is not going to let up on the illegal ride share drivers. They have been warned and they are a menace to society. Now, it seems they are the ones protesting. There were about 20 drivers outside the county building while a meeting was going on about trantransportation. They wanted their voice heard, I guess. Their major claim is that the HCPTC protects and outdated form of business. The claim taxi companies are actually a monopoly. This is not true. There are about 48 taxi companies iandin Tampa growing. Bids are taken on medallions every year and the majority of them go to private owners. The Big taxi companies have enough cars to manage and do not want to match active cars with working medamedallions if there are no drivers. What will become a monopoly is Uber. The history of this country has shown that natural monopolies occur when capitalism is UNREGULATED. Have y...

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My blood work was normal

The doctor could not believe how good my blood lan was. Last July, euro g Shark Week, he sent me to the ER because of a BP of 215/118. Today, 147/77 and ALL my blood counts were normal. He called it "miraculous" and Congratulated me on starting the swimming cardio routine. I told him I had joined the USMS and was planning on being in a meet in July. I could not be happier with my progress. Now, I don't have to see him for six months. I hope to blow his mind again. posted from Bloggeroid

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Angel The Rescued Kitten

I have a new and wonderful friend. Her name is Angel. George found her on his way home at 3 in the morning running around on the elevated span of highway 19 in Clearwater. He pulled over and pulled out of a storm drain. He took her home and knocked on my door. He has two cats and wanted me to keep her overnight until he could find a neighbor to take her. I fell in love with her. She is now my best friend and keeps me company for I live alone. It's not fair that so much cuteness can be crammed into such a little thing.

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RETIRED..what did you expect?

I have retired from taxi driving for good. I turned the keys in and walked away from 24 years on the streets. In a way, like Ronald Reagan said, the taxi business walked away from me. Anyway, I am home and doing nothing but getting caught up on a bunch of personal stuff. I am loving it. Check out this video about how I spend most mornings now. I have applied to work for Lyft and was approved, of course. I should be getting a new car next week and will be driving for them. Ride share has become the new taxi companies and they deliver what I am looking for. I have two monthly checks coming in which are enough to live off of. So don't worry about me. Its just that I was not exactly ready to retire but the circumstances gave me no choice. It does feel good, by the way.

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St. Petersburg Taxi tells the truth about Uber and ride share

Albert is a cab driver that follows the rules and pays his insurance, license, and operation fees Guest post by Albert Zee: Uber problem in Tampa Bay.....Taxi industry has been under siege since 2007-2008 due to economical collapse of 2008, then surge in new taxi cab start ups between 2010-204 which were still mostly operating according to all the rules and regulations prolonged recovery. Then uber came around with "great solution" to our transportation problems and said, what regulations, what commercial insurance, what background checks and what cars (we don't need to own any and our drivers don't need to be regulated because we are "rideshare" company), we will invade and steal the market by offering rides at half a price, we will put all those law obeying "taxi cartels" out of business by creating bogus press releases about advantages of uber, by lying to public, drivers and politicians, they don't know any better any ways. Curren...

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