SECURITE! SECURITE!

My entries during my stay at Submarine Officer Basic Course (SOBC) have been sparse, with good reason. With a copious amount of free time on my hands, I would rather work out, read, sleep, and travel on the weekends. As such, I spent most of my spare time working out, reading, and traveling. Sleep was squeezed in on train and car rides.

SOBC was a great time, we still had to work, however compared to power school and prototype, it paled in comparison. This is how the Navy tricks you. Horrible working hours are made the norm, and then when they give you a 9 to 5, suddenly you become grateful and forget about all the hard times. Great strategy I have to say.

Let me recap a few of my trips and escapades while here at SOBC:

New York City: 4 trips, lots of eating out, nightlife, museums (the MET, MOMA), and musicals (Avenue Q). I tried walking as much as possible and over the 4 trips, covered everywhere from downtown (to see the WTC site, check that box) to the Met, all the way uptown around 82nd. NYC is a great city, and I would love to continue visiting: I'm not sure if I could make a life there, it's a freaking zoo.

Boston: 2 trips. It's actually a very small town, and in my opinion, with not much to do. I saw everything I needed to see in two trips, and left with the sound of belligerent drivers ringing in my ear.

Newport RI: 1 trip, stayed at a friend's place, who is from Newport. I got there at dark, and left in the morning, so I didn't see much, but it was fun for the 18 hours I was there. Also, the winter season doesn't seem to lend itself to be a bustling town.

New Haven: Hung out at Yale once, but also made 5-6 more trips, to the climbing gym there, trying to get back into my climbing grove. Lots of fun.

Skiing/Boarding: Went up to some small mountain in MA. I skied and tried boarding for the first time, and did quite well.

I was kept quite busy, and to be honest, am ready to work!

Of course there has been other things going on, i.e. national and world news!

One day was particularly a blockbuster news day:
19 FEB 08, Fidel Castro announced his resignation as the president of Cuba! Almost surreal. What will be the effect? Honestly, I'm not really that interested, because there are bigger problems out there.
That same day (plus or minus a few), Blu Ray was declared the victor in the epic Blu Ray v HD DVD battle. The world has not seen such blood shed since the VHS v Betamax battle of the 80's. In the recent war, Toshiba ceded to Sony after several major Hollywood studios, who were on the fence, ran to Blu Ray. Ironically, Sony LOST the battle in the 80s as Betamax was their proprietary standard, and VHS was JVC's.

There are a few other on going stories that affect every American.
1. The recession. No one wants to use that term, but we ARE in one. A recession "is a slowdown in a country's gross domestic product (GDP), or negative real economic growth, for two or more successive quarters of a year." (thanks wikipedia)
Done. So now that's out of the way, are we in a depression? I think we're headed for one. You can see it everywhere. Housing continuing its slide like a sorority girl in a jello wrestling match. The stock market is stuttering in the downward direction. And this is some bad luck right here:
A few days ago, the dollar hit its ALL TIME LOW against the Euro, while on the very same day, Oil hit its ALL TIME HIGH of over $102 a barrel. HOLY COW, is anyone worried? Well I am only sort of, because I have a secure job, and in fact, we just got a navy wide pay raise this year. However, I'm worried for my fellow Americans.
2. The presidential primaries: Well, McCain's got the republican nomination secured, while Obama and Hilary are duking it out, alternating between periods of peaceful, positive dialogue, and shin breaking swipes. As Obama slowly edges ahead, I am realizing that this is the first presidential election that I'm looking forward to, because I like both Obama and McCain. Now, you may wonder, why is the possibility of indecision a good thing? Well because either way, I'll be happy with the election results.

You have McCain, a liberal-ish conservative and a former naval officer + POW (street cred!), and Obama, a man who has inspired America in a way not seen since JFK. You can't lose!


[image credited to their respective owners: not me!]

As I head off to my boat, I bid the Northeast fair winds and following seas!

Two girls one sub

With the viral video rage these days, I'm thinking of releasing a short I've been working on. It involves two girls, taking turns sampling the primary without procedure, permission, or anti-c's. They then take a swig of primary and then proceed to make pop-tarts in nucleonics. GROSS!

While you all wait for that amazing video to hit the streets, mull on my razor efficient movie reviews . With winter stand down, I have had a chance to catch up on my books and movies.

I'll start with the less satisfying of the two, movies:

1. I Now Pronounce you Chuck & Larry: Adam Sandler and that fat guy from "Hitch". Hilarious jokes with a solid plot, great message (don't hate!), and Jessica Biel. Two Periscopes up.

2. Rush Hour 3: Jackie Chan still throws furniture with his legs and Chris Tucker still won't shut the f up.

3. I am Legend: Movie peaked at the scene where he chased deer through the streets of NY. Too much zombie, not enough Fresh Prince. Plus a huge pie of religious allegory smashed into your face at the end. No thanks.

4. The Bourne Ultimatum: Bourne runs. Bourne kicks ass in hand to hand combat. He gets into a car, chase ensues. Repeat x5 = one full movie.

5. Live Free or Die Hard: John McClane drives a car into a helicopter. Love it.


Books:
1. "Blink" by Malcom Gladwell: Another great book by Gladwell, it examines the process of split second judgements. At first, it is hard to believe that one could write an entire book on this, but after reading it, one could write volumes on the topic. Much like his other book, "The Tipping Point," it delves into the underlying reasons for simple human behavior and interactions. Enlightening.

2. "Mind Gym: An Athlete's guide to Inner Excellence" by Gary Mack. I actually found this book on Amazon while clicking on one book, then clicking on "other customers bought," repeatedly, which eventually leads you to some completely unrelated book that you find interesting. This book is written at a fourth grade level, so that any "athlete" may understand. This actually made it hard for me to read. However, it still gave good tips on improving your performance in sports. After gleaning some tidbits in being "present minded" while playing your sport, I headed out to play a round with the pop's at the local course. I lost a ball at every hole, and at the ninth hole, I "presently hated golf." Thanks Mind Gym.



Fair winds and following sea's

Nuclear Winter

My sacrifice was sufficient in the eyes of the gods, and I finished prototype, ahead of schedule, as our entire class got pushed out right before Thanksgiving. HOORAH!

After an overly restful leave period, I embarked to SOBC. For those in the know, it is effectively the calm between the storms for a JO. Yes, still a training command, still studying, etc., however it is RADIATION FREE. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, NO dosimetry required!
It is a true winter here in SOBC, and I am freezing, as my genteel skin, accustomed to the year round arid and warm climate of my hometown, is not prepared for this. I hope that I will make it out of here, and to my boat, whether she likes it or not!

Fair winds, and Freezing seas!

And the Lord said, let there be hell

In the beginning, God created the surface ship and the airplane. And all was good.
On the second day, he created Rickover. And Rickover said, let there be neutrons.
And here I am.

Prototype is one huge pain train, but it's all for the better. As a masochist, I manage to keep in sight the invaluable lessons learned from rotating shift work, inevitable double standards, ephemeral scheduling, and infinite red tape.

So far I have escaped 'plus hours', some steam leak by, and malaria from living in the "low country" as they call it down here.

It certainly is low on:
- The amount of good drivers
- Culture
- Egalitarianism
- Good drivers
- The much touted 'red drum,' a regional croaker species.

There is plenty of:
- Really really bad drivers
- Swamp stench
- Paper factory stench
- Bad driver stench
- Blue crab

Only a few more months to go, we finish on Thanksgiving. I will then be giving much thanks for having gone through and COMPLETED prototype on an S5W.

Oh and of course, there are no more S5W's in the fleet.

Tuna Salad, Nuke style

Hello Shipmates!
Do you love procedure?
Do you circle x when you read the morning paper?

If so, this recipe is for you!

So get your grease pencil and your warm up your "point - read - operate" hand, because you're in for a treat!

How to make a great Tuna pasta salad, perfect for lunch at work, a picnic, or a snack:

For the remainder of this discussion, refer to the following table for reference guides:
KDOP: Kitchen Department Operating Procedures
KDCP: Kitchen Department Casualty Procedures
KPM: Kitchen Plant Manual
-Vol. 1: Systems
-Vol. 2:
-Book 1: Operating Instructions
-Book 2: Operating Procedures
-Book 3: Casualty Procedures
SPILLCON: Spill Control for Kitchens
Ing Chem Manual: Ingredient Chemistry for Kitchen Plants

GO!
This is your last piece of informal guidance; begin by using KDOP - 2, table 22: Tuna Salad.

KDOP - 2, Table 22:
1. Gather all ingredients:
a. 1 Can of Albacore tuna, 1 stick of celery, 1 tbsp of Onion, one cup of Farfalle pasta, salt, black pepper, 2 tbsp's of light mayonnaise, 1 tsp of lemon juice, half of an avocado.
b. Observe all expiration dates and packaging requirements per (Ing Chem Manual). Do not use expired ingredients.
c. Place on Kitchen counter, per KPM, Vol. 2, Book 1, OI 6.2: Kitchen Counter
2. Boil water using a class B, type II receptacle.
a. Fill receptacle per KPM, Vol. 2, Book 1, OI 10.1: Filling a pot, and condition water per Ing Chem Manual.
b. Boil water, per KPM, Vol. 2, Book 2, OP A.1, Gas Range Startup, and perform a normal Gas Range Startup
i. Refer to KPM, Vol. 1, Book 1, OI 12.1, Operating the Gas Range
c. Monitor water per KPM, Vol. 2, Book 2, OP B.2, Steady State Heat Operations, and add pasta when the prerequisites of the following references are met:
i. Ing Chem Manual, 533.3: Indications of a Wet Vapor
ii. KPM, Vol. 2, Book 1, OI 9.2, Adding ingredients to a Wet Vapor
d. Remove the pasta upon completion, according to article 440, Ing Chem Manual.
3. Chop and dice the celery, cilantro, and avocado, per reference KPM OI 15.1: Knife Operations.
a. Pare the ingredients as follow:
i. Celery & Avocado: .25 x .25 in.
ii. Cilantro: Finely chopped (see Ing Chem Manual for chopping guidelines)
4. If any spills occur, refer to SPILLCON.
5. If any burns (thermal or chemical), lacerations, punctures, during the procedure, refer to KDCP.
6. Combine all prepared ingredients in a OSHA approved bowl, and mix, as per OI 19.2: Mixing in medium to large bowls. Add Mayonnaise, Lemon Juice, and pinch of salt and pepper (see Ing Chem Manual for pinch guidelines)
7. Transfer to a non-porous storage container, meeting guidelines of Ing Chem Manual article 800: Perishable Food Storage
8. Clean up the kitchen, per KDCP - 2, Table 18: Kitchen Cleanup
9. Enjoy at any time, don't forget to wash your hands!

(Note: your tuna salad will in no way look or taste like
the professionally made one above
- photo credit: not me)

The Dog Days of Prototype

Some recent notable events:

1. We have finished one full cycle of shifts. The most notable was the swings to mids shift, where we got off work at 2330 (11:30PM for you scrubs out there) and commenced partying till 8 am in order to adjust to the midnight shift (1900 - 0700).
Quick breakdown:
2330: Get off work, go change out of our smelly coveralls
2400: Our crew meets up at a local wings/sports bar. We had a buttload of wings and some beers. We ordered the "china syndrome" and "chernobyl" flavored ones, and sat with bated breath.
We briefed the procedure, checked our dosimetry, and established communications. The wings arrived, and we dug in, eagerly hoping to exceed our yearly exposure limit so that they would tell us that we couldn't come into work anymore.
Needless to say, we received more exposure from the radon gas that was baked into the wings, and went to work a few days later.
0100: We went to an after hours establishment and spent about an hour grabbing a beer or two. For some reason, all of Charleston closes down after 12pm on Monday nights. Ridiculous!
0200: Our entire crew assembled back at our house to begin imbibing with no repercussions. Instruments were collected, and the house began to fill with the sounds of 2 djembe's, 2 didgeridoo's, a guitar, and some horrible singing.
0330: A crewmate and myself walked over to the dock to do a little night fishing. Results: one croaker, which was grudgingly tossed back into the briny deep.
0530: Return to the house, to find half the crew passed out on the couches. We grabbed some more beers, and headed out back to the dock to watch the sunrise.
0700: Breakfast: we grilled up some steaks, eggs, and I made chocolate chip pancakes. A grand time was had by the 4 remaining awake members of our crew.
0800: End mid's party. We are officially shifted over!

2. A grandmother gives her grandson a gift. The gift of red lobster. A shipmate of mine received a gift certificate to red lobster from his grandmother, for five-zero dollars. Naturally, he wanted to share this gift with his colleagues. So thus four Naval Officers embarked on a journey to consume epic amounts of trans fats and triple fried shrimp.

1900: We pile in the car, morale was high.
1930: We are lost. In North Charleston nonetheless. It is dark, and the streets are poorly labeled. I think I heard a gunshot.
1940: With the help of my blackberry, I guide us to the eatery. We have arrived at the seafood feeding trough of America.
1950: We put our names down, for 4. 10 min wait she says. TEN minutes? Are you serious? At a flippin' red lobster? I don't wait for subcritical multiplication, let alone the staff at a trashy seafood chain. Seat me now!
2000: We are seated. The host brings us three different menus each. One is the standard menu. The second is there "as seen on TV specials" (no shit, he said this), and the third was... I don't even know what the third was, but it was there. I quickly moved to coloring a kids menu.
2010: After much debate on how we wanted to increase our cholesterol levels, we all settled on what we wanted to eat.
Me: Choose your own feast, coconut shrimp + crab alfredo.
Shipmate1: Three shrimp platter
Shipmate2: Ultimate Feast
Shipmate3: Ultimate Feast. Copy cat.
Bottomless cheesy bread all around!
We also order lobster dip and calamari as appetizers.
2035: The food arrives. After about three bites, I have diabetes.
2100: Red Lobster was a bad choice.
We pay, and pour into the car, there are talks of making large head calls at home.
0010: As I write this, I realize that the waitress didn't bring us our freaking sides!!! I ordered a baked potato. I GOT JIPPED. Add THAT to the list of things I hate about red lobster.

That's all the chronological events for tonight...

Other frequent prototype activities have been: crabbing, sleeping, fishing, and sleeping. I haven't gotten my room 100% light proof for mids, but it's good enough.

I may go see the doctor next week for prescription to help with my newfound high cholesterol.

The Second Step

In a Journey of a Thousand Miles. Power school has been completed! I got out just fine... I had a great 2 week vacation, visiting family and friends back at home, slept a LOT, and read loads of books that contained NO "topical guide objectives," or a table of specs. BITE ME!

BOOK REVIEWS:
I just finished Heinleins "Stranger in a Strange Land," supposedly one of the most famous science fiction novels ever. Very interesting. The ending left me wanting more, something more definitive. However, I think that was the point of the novel, in that "Michael Smith," the Martian, was trying to convey a sense of timelessness & lack of urgency in existence. Too bad I'm only an Earthling, and have to go to work everyday...

Also "The Tipping Point" by Malcom Gladwell. Excellent read, very enlightening. It gives insight into the nature of large scale human interaction. Not much more to be said on that, other than, highly recommended!

NAVY TALK:
Right now, we have started prototype, and it is a complete CLUSTER F**K. The class has a record # of people due to the Navy's infinite wisdom, therefore everything is harder to accomplish due to the crowds (anyone who knows about prototype can relate to this).
However, I'm getting that much closer to the boat, so I'm still excited. And I'm learning a ton of stuff every day.

The favorite outfit of RL DIV (not really):













NAVY NEWS:
I just saw the logo of the USS Hawaii's (SSN-776), a brank spanking new Virginia Class Submarine, the 3rd in its class. It was commissioned on 5 MAY 07, as the first commissioned US Navy vessel to be named after the aloha state. I love Hawaii, and I love submarines... We'll see where my destiny takes me.

Sweet logo huh!















Fair Winds & Following Seas

Halfway...

I am officially halfway through officer nuclear power shool. Surprisingly, it has become much more manageable. I find myself less stressed out, and yet doing fine. I guess I'm finally adapting to the environment. I am enjoying myself as much as the I was the first day I got here, so that is also a plus.

I still think about Hawaii everyday, and getting to my submarine so I can do real navy things. This keeps me going while I'm here busy getting the foundations for my career.

I have been seeing the alligator a lot more lately, likely attributed to the warming weather and longer hours of sunlight.

I have also been dreaming about nuclear power much less these days. I haven't had a power school dream in a few weeks. *crosses fingers*

Fair Winds
and Following seas

Some signs that I'm studying too much

And also that I may like what I'm doing...

I had a dream last night that I was designing a Cadmium based reactor. Haha!! I chose cadmium because it was more plentiful than uranium. Now, I have no idea if that is even true. I actually don't even know anything about Cadmium. I'm pretty sure it's non-radioactive. It could be comparable to making an Aluminum based reactor. What a weird thought.

In that same dream, I was stressed out at one point because my carbonic acid concentration was too high. WTF? Questions for myself: Where was this carbonic acid (H2CO3)?
Why was there too much?
What was I going to do??

All I remember was that the carbonic acid was dissociating in water to produce hydronium ions. I didn't include the fact that carbonic acid is polyprotic. I realized that upon waking up. Hahaha...

If you have read this far without yelling "DORK," outloud, then I thank you. If only you could understand...

If I keep having dreams like this, I will either:
1. Go crazy
Or
2. Invent something really cool (like a magnesium based squirrel poo reactor that auto corrects for carbonic acid concentrations) in my sleep and then go crazy

Fair winds and following seas

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

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...

Road Trip To Charleston, SC

I arrived in Charleston on 29 Nov, after a great road trip with great friends.

Here is a synopsis of the trip:
Departed San Diego on a Monday
Drove 19 hrs straight to Austin, TX, rotating between the 3 of us.
One of my buddies got a ticket for going 86 in an 85 zone in West Texas... :(

We spent 2 nights in Austin, seeing the nightlife, and daylife - their modern art museum was meager, but there were a lot of cool small galleries. The only downer was that it was raining the whole time. We paced a giant rainstorm all the way to New Orleans
We left the next morning to New Orleans, arriving in the afternoon - we went all out in New Orleans, staying at the Inn on Bourbon - a great location. We even got a balcony room.
New Orleans was a blast, and we left 2 nights later, to Atlanta.
The drive to Atlanta was pleasant, and we arrived on Saturday evening, spending the night there and leaving the next morning - the drive to Charleston took us through Augusta, where we had lunch at a great pit bbq place.
The road trip really gave me a perspective onto the rest on the country - as a native Californian that has travelled more internationally than domestically, I saw a lot of new things. Hardees is Carls. Jr?
I ate Sonic for the first time.
All the cities we drove through were new to me as well. Austin was a very college-y town. The French Quarter had a distinct smell - I'll just say it gave it "character." We stopped in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi for gas - we drove by 10 gas stations until we could find one that was open - the rest had been destroyed by a hurricane...

Charleston is a vastly different place than San Diego or Los Angeles - and I'm slowly acclimating myself. I'm getting a mixed experience as far as "Southern Hospitality" goes - a friend who had lived in the South told me that Southern Hospitality can sometimes mean two-faced. Fine by me, as long as I get served at Cracker Barrel! HAH!

I'm staying with a buddy right now, and am moving to my own place in downtown soon.

As planned, I'm beginning to see the world!

First post, First protest

As of late, I have been attached to a local recruiting head quarters. We have a large coverage area and are at the height of recruiting season, as school has just started on college campuses. I work with the officer programs office, which means we recruit for officers - specifically on college campuses because officers are required to have college degrees.

Today was my second recruitment fair. It was quite a production, as the navy brought in marketing subcontractors to help out, and we had all sorts of stuff, including this giant inflatable navy balloon, shirts, hats, etc., free food, etc.

There were rumors of a planned protest. The rumors were true.

The protesters has signs such as "accelerate your death" (hehe kinda funny), "officers = soliders, officers kill people too!", and "does dropping bombs on kids sound like fun to you?"

The protesters were a mixture of men and women, but more women. A few of them were muslim - merely an observation, not any sort of correlational implication. All of the protesters were minorities, and predominantly latino. We were targeting latinos for officer programs that day with spanish language ads and so forth.

I ignored them for most of the day, however as the day went on, they became more belligerent and aggressive, finally standing right outside of our tent and screaming. A senior enlisted individual got into quite an argument, but no screaming took place on the navy side, which I am proud of.

I'm enjoying my short stint as a recruiter. It's directly supporting the Navy and it's goals, and in turn our nations interests.


To the foam.