Freak Out

I'm a little upset and overstressed this morning, since I only have a few hours to finish some deliverables for work. But since I am acting as a project engineer, it's a matter of coordinating other people who actually do work, not doing it myself. But it isn't getting done, probably due to mismanagement on my part. Anyway, I'm finding it difficult to focus, and I'm apprehensive about this and a few other things besides. So, I took a moment, and instead of getting coffee (which I do not like and would not help at all), I decided to learn something new. That usually makes me feel better. So I read about LaGrange Points for a few minutes. Granted, the wikipedia entry is probably half-bogus, like so many of them are. But taking the time to try to understand the phenomenon took my mind off of work, and now I feel like I can concentrate again.

Filed in: Work Science

I went back to Ohio

I just had a fantastic four-day weekend traveling with my Dad and my brothers. They arrived last Tuesday, and toured DC while I worked on Wednesday. Early Thursday, we set out for my Uncle Tim's place in Kentucky. Our old skills from many long-distance driving family vacations quickly returned: we passed the time cooperating on crossword puzzles, cracking jokes, or quietly zoning out.

Kentucky was fun - our little cousins Tara and April were full of energy, and demanded a lot of attention. They were a blast, but we had to split time with them, especially April, or we would have all been worn out in a few hours.

Friday, Tim took Chris, Ryan, April, and Dad on a hike of the many natural stone arches that are near their home. I stayed behind to get some drawings done for work. Working on vacation blows. But, it had to be done to get things delivered on time.

That night, Tim and the girls hit the road with us to drive to the Elings' ancestral home in Greater Cincinnati. This time, we stopped in Florence to visit our grandparents. It's been a while since I've seen them, so that was a real treat. We ate pizza and caught everyone up with everyone else. Late, we drove into Ohio to Dad's cousin Mark's house. I guess that makes him my first cousin, once removed. Either that or second cousin. Anyway, he and his family were out of town so they let us use their house. A very cool log-cabin style place, with room for all 8 of us (Aunt Julia joined us Saturday).

Saturday, after playing catch with Ryan and Chris, the grandparents arrived with food, and were fairly closely followed by Uncle Jeff, Aunt Nancy, and cousins Nick and Nina. We ate, we laughed, we let April wear out Nick for a while. Good times continued.


Detail of Roebling suspension bridge over the Ohio

Everyone but G&G then went to the Reds Hall of Fame in Cincinnati. I got pictures of the incredible Roebling bridge over the Ohio to Kentucky, but I didn't take any pictures inside, but it was fairly slick. Especially for dyed-in-the-wool Reds fans like ourselves. Plus, it was Induction Weekend, so many past Reds greats were there, including Tom Browning, Lee May, Dave Concepcion, and Ken Griffey Senior. Weird fact: since Pete Rose is banned for life, he can't even be in the Reds Hall of Fame. This was unexpected - Rose was a god in Cincinnati - I'm surprised they didn't tell MLB to stuff it and induct him anyway.

Anyhow, after the Hall there was the game.

Chris and Dad at the game

Ryan at the game

It was a great game. The seats were ideal - good view of the whole field, out of the sun, nearby Skyline Chili stand selling outstanding coneys. We all had a really good time. Especially when the Reds came back after coughing up the lead in the 8th. They loaded the bases on walks and hit batsmen. Then a bloop to the shortstop snuck through, really should have been scored a hit and an error, allowing two to score and this one belongs to the Reds.

The Reds celebrate their victory, 3-2, over the Colorado Rockies

On Sunday we drove back to Alexandria, via Columbus to have lunch with Chris' friend from high school, Dr. Virgil Pierce. He teaches math at Ohio State. I haven't seen him in years, and I'm sure Chris was glad to catch up with him.

We had a long trip back to Alexandria, but made it without too much trouble. It was Mom's birthday (Happy Birthday, Mom!), so we called. And she saw Kiefer Sutherland at a restaurant in Portland. So everybody had a big weekend, really.

[more photos here]

Filed in: Baseball Travel

Just Call Me Ric Ocasek...

...'cause this is all about the Cars.

Stella has been having some problems, lately. I can feel her brakes wearing out, the A/C is weak, and there is something... off... in her electrical system. To whit:

• When you turn the ignition, the radio will come on, then turn off while the engine idles. Until you touch the brakes. But if you release the brake pedal, the radio turns off again.
• The radio works fine once she's in gear.
• If the light selector switch is on the setting that allows the high beams to stay on, rather than flash, when you click the light stalk, turning the ignition will cause a CHECK GEAR BOX light to come on at ignition. When you put her in Drive, the car goes into 2nd gear, rather than first. The higher gears work fine.
• If you select REVERSE, there is a distressing *thunk* before the car gets into reverse gear.
• There have been intermittent CHECK ENGINE warning lights.

Seriously: what the hell?

So, I took her out to S&S for service - I go there for any major auto work, since they have a certified Saab master mechanic on staff. They also have free loaner vehicles. Good thing, too. Stella's been there since last Thursday, and they haven't exactly figured out what is the problem. The loaner is pretty fun to drive, though.



It's a '92 900 convertible with a turbocharger. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to enjoy the recent beautiful weather, since the roof motor has been disabled. I thought it was just a case of removed fuses, but when I cadged some (spares and fog lights), it still didn't work. What a drag - it was the perfect weekend for a convertible.

Now comes the part where I look a little dim. On Sunday I was going to drive into D.C. to see a movie at the Uptown. That did not happen, since I left the parking lights on for 2 days straight. Brilliant. Unfortunately, my friends who were available to help had no jumper cables, and those with jumper cables were unavailable. The good folks at AAA hooked me up, but not in time to make the show. Oh well.

In happier car news, Liz/Betsy just got a new car, a nice Audi A4.


Note that it's even a Quattro model, as you can see from the dash badging in the 2nd picture.

Filed in: Saab

Erica Mohr, NYC

I had an unusually productive weekend the past two days. On Saturday I got up extra early to mow the lawn before it got too hot. Then I took care of a bunch of small errands, like a haircut, tuxedo measurements for Kirk's wedding in a few weeks, etc. Then I had to go in to the office for a few hours to finally put together an equipment list for a project that needs to be delivered this week. With the holiday tomorrow, I need to do whatever I can to clear the decks and get this thing over and done with. So that was kind of a drag, and because of it I couldn't go to the reopening of the Smithsonian American Art Museum like I hoped. I guess I'll try to go next weekend.

Sunday morning involved still more chores, but did bring a pleasant surprise. The potted vegetable plants in my side yard really benefitted from the recent rains - I've got like a peck or a bushel of sweet peppers, the cherry tomatoes are ripening, and there is a second cucumber. Still no watermelon, though. I picked some of the peppers and will try them tonight.

In the afternoon, I was able to drive out to Sterling to visit Amanda and Sean. They have a really nice place - very well put together. And they put on a nice barbecue since Heidi and Erica Mohr are down visiting from NYC. There were a bunch of folks there, including Angie and her fiance Sean. Good times. I was surprised when Erica Mohr said she Googled "Erica Mohr" and saw something I had written a few months back. Hmmmm... sounds a little suspect. How egotistical do you have to be to Google yourself?

At any rate, it was a really good time, I'm glad I made it out.

Philly

Very old destroyers, and the gantry crane of the Aker Philadelphia Yard (nee Kvaerner Philadelphia, nee Philadelphia Naval Shipyard)

The relatively new CG 47 Ticonderoga, alongside the Spruance-class Conolly. I toured Conolly once as a kid, in Norfolk

Old and rusted

Moored up ships, with the Naval Business center beyond

Blight

Cool lift bridge at the entrance to the mothball mooring

Filed in: Work Travel

Big Damn Weekend

A very busy few days. On Thursday, there was the SNAME Navy Museum tour. Friday night, Steph & Aaron hosted a kick-ass barbeque. Lots of good food and folks. Though, to hear Steph & Aaron tell it, we just missed out on having a "14 foot pork core." Too bad.

Saturday was mostly spent on a wine tasting tour planned out by Dave and Sadie. This was preceded by a very tasty brunch, including some kind of heatbar crunch candy coffee cake that Jill & Will brought. I'm still not much of a wine guy, but it was very fun to spend a day out in the country with my friends.

On the way home, there was a lot of traffic on I-66. And above, you'll see why. A truck freaking exploded on the westbound lanes. Well, it was on fire. The fuel had clearly lit off, because it was engulfed in flames. The gas was burning up through the exhaust stack, shooting fire like a flamethrower. I hope no one was hurt, but it was something else.

Well, after I made it through the ensuing mess, and went to visit Steve at his new place in Springfield. Very nice. I missed Jeanne, but I did get to hang out with Tyler. Friendly little bugger. And Steve grilled me up an outstanding steak. Kudos to the grillmaster.

And today, it was up to Philly for work. I hate driving on I-95. Anybody got a better way to get back to DC? 'Cause it took me 4 hours to go 140 miles.

Lastly, big congratulations to Steph for her performance at the Mountaineer Triathlon in Morgantown. She was 49th Overall, the 8th woman, and the 2nd woman in her age group, at 2:58:46.89. And this is only a tune-up for her Iron Man in Wisconsin.

PROJECT NEKTON

I had a real treat this evening. The locale SNAME section had it's last technical session of the year, a visit to the US Navy Museum at the Washington Navy Yard, followed by light dinner and a recap of the season's technical presentations.

The museum is not open to the general public, since it is on a secure military base. But it's not like it's Area 51 - we have meetings there regularly, and so we had no trouble setting up a visit to the museum. We only had an hour to wander around, but it was great for a naval buff like myself.


Titanium pressure sphere, identical to the one installed on DSV-2 Alvin

sphere

A step back from the sphere, better showing the three small portholes and the hatch

Out in front of the museum, they have a pressure sphere identical to the one used to make the first dives to the wreck of the Titanic. It is so perfectly smooth, and almost featureless; from certain angles, it looks like a piece of abstract art. Knowing the technical specs makes it even more impressive: 1.93 inches of titanium, weighing 7500 pounds and capable of diving to 12000 feet. It replaced a steel sphere of the same size that was 1.33 inches thick, but weighed 1000 pounds more, and could only go to 6000 feet.


A model of the USS Olympia, Admiral Dewey's flagship at the Battle of Manilla. The real ship is currently displayed in Philadelphia

Interior of the US Navy Museum in the Washington Navy Yard

Model of the battleship USS Vermont

Information plate for the Vermont model

Conning tower, entry passage, and pressure sphere of the bathyscaphe Trieste

Note the propulsion pod near the bow, and the forward iron shot container

Trieste's stern, including the after shot hopper, the rudder with sacrificial manganese strips, and the after propulsion pod

Another view of her underside

Detail on the bow

Detail of the single porthole. Five inches of german steel, and a reinforced plexiglass cone, and you can go to the very bottom of the sea

Trieste's original pressure sphere

The real highlight of the evening was getting to see the bathyscaphe Trieste. I geeked out a little, and started to lecture at some length to the other engineers about the vessel. Two of the museum curators came by to shoo us out since they were closing up, and they said they would hire me as a guide for the tourists, I knew so much about her. She was built in the 1950's by Swiss physicist Auguste Piccard and his son, Jacques. She's like a balloon that goes underwater; Piccard had actually become famous studying cosmic rays by ascending in high-altitude balloons, which inspired the bathyscaphe design.

Eventually, with upgrades and support from the US Navy, the Trieste descended to the absolute bottom of the ocean, the Challenger Deep of the Marianas Trench. Seven miles down. When I was in fourth grade, my friend Peter bought a copy of a book with that title, Seven Miles Down, from the middle school library book sale, and gave it to me. It cost a nickel. That book changed my life. That awakened love of exploration, and science, and the sea, that has shaped my life ever since. Because of that book I became a sailor, joined the Coast Guard, and became a naval architect. I still have it - I keep it on my bedside table.

So, getting the chance to see the boat I dreamed of as a kid was a great thrill.


Recreation of the gun deck on Constitution

Filed in: Ships Books