Sunset At Mt Fitzroy, Argentina
Sunday was an awesome day. The goodness began in the morning and lasted all day. SG, SGGurl and I all attended services at Open Door where once again the welcome was sincere and services uplifting. Afterwards a group of us went out for Mexican Food which while it was food and it was Mexican, they still have a thing or two they could learn about Tex-Mex. The fun and fellowship was wonderful with laughs all around when the crew at the restaurant surprised on lady at our table with this huge sombrero so they could sing Happy Birthday. She graciously went along with the whole thing with a big smile while vowing revenge on all in attendance under her breath. It was really cute in execution but you may have had to have been there to catch the whole drift but it was cute and funny at the time and everyone had fun with it. Lest you think your intrepid Uncle was making an unfair assessment of the cuisine at our cafe of choice on Sunday, I ate entirely too much so I did a fair amount of research and the folks around the table seemed to enjoy their selections. On the way home from the restaurant we stopped by the local Radio Shack for something SG wanted to look at. A while back my optical mouse died and I have been using this old MS mouse with the little rubber ball in the bottom, yeah I know ancient technology. But I I upgraded to day to a new wireless keyboard and mouse. I had to slow my roll a little bit as I was used to having to shove that other thing that seemed so heavy and the new mouse is light as a feather and the cursor movement is more precise. The key board is quite almost silent but not quite. It is very easy to key and sits at a comfortable angle for me. It has some fancy controls on the keyboard for controlling the volume and play back actions for the media player in use. It has a button to bring up my email and one to bring up my homepage here at Nichevo and one more that will bring up an on screen calculator in case I am too lazy to stretch over to the corner of the desk in front of the left speaker to use the one there. I know it is just a small thing but it makes me feel better and it does feel so good to my finger tips and .....oh yeah, where was I? So I was having just a right fine day with the most anticipated event yet to come.
Yes we finally made the sojourn down to the Riverfront to the Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum where we boarded the USS Razorback for a rather more intimate tour than the normal tourist would get. I went with SG who is the Operations Officer on the crew and as his guest I had access to spaces that others had to just peer into or see photographs of restricted spaces. This particular class of submarine was designed in 1938 and the Razorback was commissioned in 1944 seeing action in WWII, Korea, and Viet Nam. She was sold to the Turks in the seventies and was used continuously until here purchase by the Inland Maritime Museum in 2004. It was like I was stepping back in time. The utilitarian nature of the environment within the stealthy black hull evoked memories of my own Naval service during the Viet Nam era. Government decorators still haven't changed much in the last 70 years so it was comforting and familiar while being fascinating and new to me. Engineering wise a submarine is a miracle combination of ingenious devices, dedicated skilled operators, and some sheer luck. Of course boats of this class are small compared to the boomers and the attack subs we have today. For all that the crew could be well supplied, fed, trained and entertained in this microcosm of society. It took a dedicated crew and a daring Captain with skilled subordinates to manipulate the various systems in order to accomplish her mission which she did admirable throughout her naval service. I got to go down in to the sonar room and into the radio room and up to the bridge from where all the fighting of the ship was directed. All vital information that was produced by this vessel that had anything to to do with seaworthiness, navigation and the ability to serve as a weapons platform had a indicator or repeater making that data available to the Captain so he could wrest a decision from the data and the advice of his officers. The Razorback was also the first of the class to have an expanded machine shop for more repairs could be done under way rather than tying up an asset like a submarine in a port for minor repairs. I loved the ingenuity of the galley and the placement of storage areas cold and dry commodities. Then there was the engineering system for the propulsion of the boat. The Razorback was also one of the first boats with a snorkel allowing her diesel engines to operate at periscope depth for extended range and maneuverability. Calculations for Navigation and Weapons Targeting was done manually and entered into the rudimentary Target Acquisition and Tracking System by use of various dials and cranks buttons. The sound power communications looked the same as when I served which means they must not fixed it cause it wasn't broke kinda thing. Hard to believe the military used their intelligence for a change, huh? Any way, we spent several hours crawling through compartments investigating how this thing operates or that thing over there what does that do? type of stuff. While in the control room that you usually see in movies one guide was explaining the dive planes and how the boat rises and dives. He told the story about when the Razorback participated in the Bikini atoll nuclear tests. There was the test blast which the boat weathered in fine fettle but the real explosion in the actual test was another story entirely. the underwater tsunami that occurred blasted the Razorback out of the water and pitched her nose first into a death dive for the bottom. The crew bounced off every surface within the hull as the boat was diving in a corkscrew motion to the bottom. The scream of the propellers and the engines that drove them in full speed in reverse, to the skill of the diving officer and the crew who executed an emergency save in this instance is a tribute to all submariners. This class of submarine operates best at 400 feet below the surface of the water with a max or crush depth of 650 feet. On that day the fathometer pegged at 600 and it is estimated they were below 800 when the Captain and crew reversed their dive and regained control of the boat. Going on to serve another 60 years in the oceans of the world for both the US and Turkish Navies. The Razorback is a living history museum of one of the most tumultuous times in the history of mankind and she has lived to tell her story to anyone who is willing to listen. After exiting the boat through the forward escape hatch we visited the adjacent museum which held many artifacts from every period of her service. There is of course the obligatory souvenir shop but it was not too outrageously priced. It is a trip I will probably make again soon.
Now it was suggested that I find pictures of sailors for today's eye candy section by a good friend of Uncle's and Nichevo, but Uncle was lazy and did not want to randomly search albums for sailors as I don't have just one album label sailors. So I decide to put together a set of guys that are either wet, could be or should be wet or water would be an enjoyable added element to the photograph of the gentleman in question. In each selection I chose someone who I think would sizzle like water on a hot grill with the addition water running in rivulets down muscular torsos or maybe just a healthy sweat from some possibly "aerobic" exercise, whatever..... I think the collection came out real well. Coming up next is an excursion to the Clinton Library for the first time probably on Thursday as I am off that day. I will ride the bus to the trolley then take the trolley over to the The Presidential Center and back. Perhaps luncheon in the River Market before heading back North of the River. Then on my next off day, Sunday is my first Care Team meeting out at DNB's house near Maumelle (down river a little way). Now a Care Team is a social support group within the congregation. D N B are this great couple who have been together 23 years and there are many members in team. The idea behind the care teams is social interaction within the congregation and support among the members for those who need whatever ministry is appropriate in their time of need. So this week should be an adventure that I will in turn relate within these pages for your edification. So without any further ado I give you your man fix for the day. Until next time as always, Enjoy!
Yes we finally made the sojourn down to the Riverfront to the Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum where we boarded the USS Razorback for a rather more intimate tour than the normal tourist would get. I went with SG who is the Operations Officer on the crew and as his guest I had access to spaces that others had to just peer into or see photographs of restricted spaces. This particular class of submarine was designed in 1938 and the Razorback was commissioned in 1944 seeing action in WWII, Korea, and Viet Nam. She was sold to the Turks in the seventies and was used continuously until here purchase by the Inland Maritime Museum in 2004. It was like I was stepping back in time. The utilitarian nature of the environment within the stealthy black hull evoked memories of my own Naval service during the Viet Nam era. Government decorators still haven't changed much in the last 70 years so it was comforting and familiar while being fascinating and new to me. Engineering wise a submarine is a miracle combination of ingenious devices, dedicated skilled operators, and some sheer luck. Of course boats of this class are small compared to the boomers and the attack subs we have today. For all that the crew could be well supplied, fed, trained and entertained in this microcosm of society. It took a dedicated crew and a daring Captain with skilled subordinates to manipulate the various systems in order to accomplish her mission which she did admirable throughout her naval service. I got to go down in to the sonar room and into the radio room and up to the bridge from where all the fighting of the ship was directed. All vital information that was produced by this vessel that had anything to to do with seaworthiness, navigation and the ability to serve as a weapons platform had a indicator or repeater making that data available to the Captain so he could wrest a decision from the data and the advice of his officers. The Razorback was also the first of the class to have an expanded machine shop for more repairs could be done under way rather than tying up an asset like a submarine in a port for minor repairs. I loved the ingenuity of the galley and the placement of storage areas cold and dry commodities. Then there was the engineering system for the propulsion of the boat. The Razorback was also one of the first boats with a snorkel allowing her diesel engines to operate at periscope depth for extended range and maneuverability. Calculations for Navigation and Weapons Targeting was done manually and entered into the rudimentary Target Acquisition and Tracking System by use of various dials and cranks buttons. The sound power communications looked the same as when I served which means they must not fixed it cause it wasn't broke kinda thing. Hard to believe the military used their intelligence for a change, huh? Any way, we spent several hours crawling through compartments investigating how this thing operates or that thing over there what does that do? type of stuff. While in the control room that you usually see in movies one guide was explaining the dive planes and how the boat rises and dives. He told the story about when the Razorback participated in the Bikini atoll nuclear tests. There was the test blast which the boat weathered in fine fettle but the real explosion in the actual test was another story entirely. the underwater tsunami that occurred blasted the Razorback out of the water and pitched her nose first into a death dive for the bottom. The crew bounced off every surface within the hull as the boat was diving in a corkscrew motion to the bottom. The scream of the propellers and the engines that drove them in full speed in reverse, to the skill of the diving officer and the crew who executed an emergency save in this instance is a tribute to all submariners. This class of submarine operates best at 400 feet below the surface of the water with a max or crush depth of 650 feet. On that day the fathometer pegged at 600 and it is estimated they were below 800 when the Captain and crew reversed their dive and regained control of the boat. Going on to serve another 60 years in the oceans of the world for both the US and Turkish Navies. The Razorback is a living history museum of one of the most tumultuous times in the history of mankind and she has lived to tell her story to anyone who is willing to listen. After exiting the boat through the forward escape hatch we visited the adjacent museum which held many artifacts from every period of her service. There is of course the obligatory souvenir shop but it was not too outrageously priced. It is a trip I will probably make again soon.
Now it was suggested that I find pictures of sailors for today's eye candy section by a good friend of Uncle's and Nichevo, but Uncle was lazy and did not want to randomly search albums for sailors as I don't have just one album label sailors. So I decide to put together a set of guys that are either wet, could be or should be wet or water would be an enjoyable added element to the photograph of the gentleman in question. In each selection I chose someone who I think would sizzle like water on a hot grill with the addition water running in rivulets down muscular torsos or maybe just a healthy sweat from some possibly "aerobic" exercise, whatever..... I think the collection came out real well. Coming up next is an excursion to the Clinton Library for the first time probably on Thursday as I am off that day. I will ride the bus to the trolley then take the trolley over to the The Presidential Center and back. Perhaps luncheon in the River Market before heading back North of the River. Then on my next off day, Sunday is my first Care Team meeting out at DNB's house near Maumelle (down river a little way). Now a Care Team is a social support group within the congregation. D N B are this great couple who have been together 23 years and there are many members in team. The idea behind the care teams is social interaction within the congregation and support among the members for those who need whatever ministry is appropriate in their time of need. So this week should be an adventure that I will in turn relate within these pages for your edification. So without any further ado I give you your man fix for the day. Until next time as always, Enjoy!
1 comment:
Good post and this post helped me alot in my college assignement. Say thank you you seeking your information.
Post a Comment