Friday, December 29, 2006

Happy Holidays - and bad news

I'm home for my first real leave period. Class on Friday felt like high school, where everyone was restless right before vacation. As we got the top copy of our leave chits, and were released for our stand down period, everyone WALKED as fast as they could out of the building and into their vacation.
The first month of power school was great - it's nothing like I expected, but everything that I expected. By that I mean, I couldn't have imagined what or how I would learn, but I knew it would be insanely hard.
My weeks are 80 hrs at least. I wake up at 4am during the week, around 8 on Saturday (sleeping in by any means), and 7 on Sunday to get back into an early wake up schedule.
No further alligator sightings - it has gotten quite cold so he/she probably went into some warm winter cabin.
I've been making the most of my winter leave with:
sleeping
climbing (on REAL rock, finally!)
cycling
golfing (which I actually hate)
having friends visit (buddies from the east coast and west coast)
painting (and realizing how hard it is)

Before I know it, power school will be over, and I'll be at prototype, then my boat.

On a somber note, another accident involving a US Submarine has occurred:

Two U.S. sailors die after falling from submarine
POSTED: 1:04 p.m. EST, December 29, 2006


Apparently, a few sailors fell off in rough weather and two of them died as they were hanging off the deck in the water, periodically being drowned.
I mourn the loss of the two sailors, and am cringing at the impending fallout from this tragedy. Who's idea was it to put sailors on the deck in foul weather? Who will take responsibility?

Pour one out for the homies...

It's strange that all modern casualties on US Navy Submarines are non-nuclear; indicative to how safe nuclear power is (due to the vigilance of our sailors). However it also shows how dangerous a shipboard environment is.

Respect

Saturday, December 02, 2006

Begin reactor start up sequence

I just finished pre-nuclear power school, a 3 week course to bring individuals up to speed on math, physics, and heat transfer. The best part of PNPS was that it got be back into the studying tempo, which will help me keep up come Monday.

I graduate at the end of May 07.

So begins the rest of the next 6 months of my nuclear powered career.

I am truly looking forward to learning about nuclear power, and applying it to the world's impending (or some would argue, current) energy crisis, directly, or in the form of power systems in general.

Technology-wise, in order for the human race to progress, we need:
1. Clean, renewable, economically feasible power generation
2. Space exploration and colonization

The latter cannot be achieved without the first, so I'll get cracking!

Back to the topic of power school:

There is an alligator that lives in the front pond of the complex. I've seen him only once - he (or she?) is a decent size - about 5 feet long. There are also turtles that come out to sunbathe when the sun is out - nature watching is a welcome break from the rigors of this program.

More on the reptilian residents of Rickover pond to come!

Fair winds and following seas...