Hey Guys I'll be Kinda Scarce For a While

[blpeterson]

Guys, I'll be kind of busy from 6 October until 1 November as I will be at the Wood's Hole Oceanographic Institution for four weeks cramming 16 months of work and data in. (I live for this, really.:) )

Drop me a note in this thread, as I'll be checking in occasionally.

Gee, Fall in New England such terrible duty.:Nope
Next week will be spent getting situated. Ed will be up next weekend.

You guys play nice and keep me informed on the juicy gossip.

[Maniacmous]

Between us and Ed...I'm sure you'll keep pretty current on the goings-on here. Good luck, and have fun. Oh, and should there be snow, you better beat the crap out of people in a snowball fight (which I also suggest you start). Again, best of luck, I'm sure we all look forward to your return. :thumb

[egarrard]

Five weeks isn't that long. We'll sure miss you, though. Enjoy the beautiful fall scenery if you can! With all the redheads and blondes in your family, I imagine the fall leaves look like a family reunion... :Wink

Thanks for joining our looney bunch! Hurry back, because you'll sure be missed! :wavey

[abb1]

Yup, have fun and come back soon:happywave

[SNAFU]

Aww! I'm gonna miss you! And I'm sure other will too! Well, enjoy yourself and don't work to hard. We're expecting Ed to keep us updated!

[WazLady73]

We will miss you blpeterson!:luxhello

Good luck with your training and enjoy the the pretty show God puts on in the fall up there in the Northeast! I envy you;)

The tree's are just starting to change here. Soon we will be raking them up:Sigh

Drop a line when you can:banana :beer

[blpeterson]

Hi guys. Thanks for all the well wishes. It's about 2330 as I write this and I'm still aboard ship doing some last minute packing. I didn't run this morning and only ran for a while this afternoon so I feel kind of tired and sluggish. If I get out of my routine it's almost like withdrawal.

This should be a nice assignment as this type of high pressure studying is what I love. I guess that's why they sent me here.:) I'm going to miss being on the forum every night but I'll try and grab some time here and there.

I think I'm missing Ed more this time because of his illness. He really scared me this time and I don't scare easily. The last time I felt this way was when my dad had his heart attack in July 2001. Ed was there the entire time for me then and I guess I'm feeling a little guilty about leaving him this week. He says he's much better and he was doing great Saturday and Sunday but I guess I've grown fond of the old fart.:heartbeat :heartbeat :heartbeat

We talked for an hour or so earlier and I think I'm going to call him when I get home…Enough of Ed and I. I know you guys are tired of hearing how much we love each other but he is so different from any other guy I ever dated or meet. I've said it before he's all man but I’ll swear I think he was a woman in a past life. You ladies know what I mean.

Anyway, I'll be studying a myriad of things including deep-sea operations. This is going to be fun. I'll be dropping in when I can and I should be in Wood's Hole on Thursday afternoon. Ed should be up Friday and I think we will find us a nice seafood dinner and just look at each other all weekend. :kiss

Take care guys.

[thephenom]

I think you might be one of the few on the forum that actually ENJOYS going to school

But either way, have FUN, take CARE, and take PICTURES!!!!:thumb

Have a Safe Trip!!!:Nice

[gotenks8]

have fun:banana

[gotenks8]

oh and have a safe trip too!

[egarrard]

Originally posted by blpeterson
Enough of Ed and I. I know you guys are tired of hearing how much we love each other.Jealous maybe, but we'd never grow tired of anything you had to say. It's always so interesting... :hail

[Orangepeel]

Hey there Brandi :wavey!

Happy studying, and enjoy your running time amongst the fall leaves :).

The trees are beginning to change up here, it won't be long 'til christmas!

[WazLady73]

Originally posted by lord nicon21
christmas NOOOOOOOOoooooooooo

Yepper...it is coming...

Today was payday for me:banana and realized only 5 more paydays till Christmas:eek:

I better start shopping...

Orangepeel-

The leaves are changing now here in Illinois also. Our big tree in our yard the top of it is staring to go yellow...in a few short weeks the tree will be this vibriant yellow...almost like sun here on earth it is so pretty!

[gotenks8]

Christmas shopping is always a pain!!!!

it turns normal nice people into SAVAGES!

[bejohnson]

Originally posted by Orangepeel
Hey there Brandi :wavey!

Happy studying, and enjoy your running time amongst the fall leaves :).

The trees are beginning to change up here, it won't be long 'til christmas!

Brandi ask me to post the following. Her computer is tied up with a project at the moment.


It's gorgeous here. The leaves should peak within the next couple of weeks. My run this evening was a real joy. The studying starts on Monday but I'm already through with all the reading. I'm looking forward to the one on one interaction with the staff. I meet most of them today and we had a couple of beers this afternoon. It seems my reputation has followed me here from MIT and they are just as eager to work with me. I'll probably spend a good portion of the day tomorrow at Marine Operations and Alvin Operations.

Mostly I can't wait to see my hubbie this weekend. I'm gonna pick him up at Providence, RI Friday and not let him go until I absolutely have to on Sunday.

That’s pretty much it so far. I'm settled in to a house that I have leased for the month and I've stocked the galley and refrigerator and I'm ready for business. Now to make you guys jealous, I connecting to the Internet with my own private full T3 courtesy of the U.S. Navy.

Ran for a couple of hours this evening and I'm actually a little tired so I'm taking a hot bath and I'm going to talk to Ed on the phone until I fall asleep.

See you guys later.:wavey

[egarrard]

Ahhhhh...government work... :rofl2 It's nice to hear she's having so much fun! I always loved the documentaries about Wood's Hole and their projects. It seemed a fun way to live your life. One of the jobs that isn't a job.

[blpeterson]

Originally posted by egarrard
Ahhhhh...government work... :rofl2 It's nice to hear she's having so much fun! I always loved the documentaries about Wood's Hole and their projects. It seemed a fun way to live your life. One of the jobs that isn't a job.

Yeah, I'm on the Gov't payroll.:rofl2 Woods Hole is a really nice area. Kind of touristy though. I found a couple of routes for my runs that are real pretty and really safe for running. Auto access to the downtown and waterfront areas is extremely limited so I will run, walk or take the trolley. I may just buy a simple bike.

The staff that I meet yesterday really loves their jobs. This is going to be more like a come join the family month than a go to school month. The staff that has been assigned to me were amazed that I had read all of their material and the supporting reference material. Then someone from MIT remembered me and it was old home week. I’m going to probably get three times as much instruction now because of that.:)

I was printing a draft of my study work log and outline last night and it ran to about 300 pages. So that’s why I had Ed post a couple of notes for me. That blasted small inkjet printer was slow as molasses in December.

Gotta start getting ready here so I’ll post later if I can. :wavey

[Maniacmous]

Originally posted by blpeterson
Yeah, I'm on the Gov't payroll.:rofl2 Woods Hole is a really nice area. Kind of touristy though. I found a couple of routes for my runs that are real pretty and really safe for running.


Safe is kinda relative when you could smack around just about anyone that'd try an attack though isn't it? I mean, for you, a safe run could be through the middle of the L.A. Riots!

Oh, and on the T3 line..... /me is jealous :Sigh

[bejohnson]

Originally posted by Maniacmous
Safe is kinda relative when you could smack around just about anyone that'd try an attack though isn't it? I mean, for you, a safe run could be through the middle of the L.A. Riots!

Oh, and on the T3 line..... /me is jealous :Sigh

I think she was refering to the lack of vehicles and type of terrain,:) Tough as she is she still is on the losing end with a truck.:) Just talked to her and she is having lunch with several of the crew that work with Alvin. She suggest that if any of you are curious to go up on

http://www.whoi.edu and browse around.

The direct link to Alvin is

http://www.whoi.edu/marops/vehicles/alvin/index.html

She will be devoting about one third to one half her time there with the rest over at the Applied Ocean Physics & Engineering Department.

http://www.whoi.edu/science/AOPE/dept/

These are very interesting websites.
Updates later.

[blpeterson]

Hey guys. Only have a couple of minutes but thought I would post this picture of the Nobska Point Lighthouse here in Woods Hole.

[blpeterson]

Here's a picture of a canberrybog that is about 50 miles north of here.

[Tivon]

Originally posted by Maniacmous
Safe is kinda relative when you could smack around just about anyone that'd try an attack though isn't it? I mean, for you, a safe run could be through the middle of the L.A. Riots!

Oh, and on the T3 line..... /me is jealous :Sigh

Blah.. T3 is nice.. we have better here at work. But the only
problem is the computers are too old for games. And I can't
bring in my own computers anymore because of my boss.http://acns.fsu.edu/~jmaynard/3GM/nonono.gif


T3+Tivon+UT2003=WHOOPIN ASS!:KICK ASS

[egarrard]

Originally posted by bejohnson
I think she was refering to the lack of vehicles and type of terrain,:) Tough as she is she still is on the losing end with a truck.:) Just talked to her and she is having lunch with several of the crew that work with Alvin. She suggest that if any of you are curious to go up on

http://www.whoi.edu and browse around.

The direct link to Alvin is

http://www.whoi.edu/marops/vehicles/alvin/index.html

She will be devoting about one third to one half her time there with the rest over at the Applied Ocean Physics & Engineering Department.

http://www.whoi.edu/science/AOPE/dept/

These are very interesting websites.
Updates later. I found these pics in the Alvin owner's manual:

Looking Forward:
http://www.whoi.edu/marops/images/alvin_portaft.gif

Port Observer's Position:
http://www.whoi.edu/marops/images/alvin_port.gif

Starboard Observer's Position:
http://www.whoi.edu/marops/images/alvin_stbd.gif

Looking Aft:
http://www.whoi.edu/marops/images/alvin_aft.gif

Looking up at the hatch:
http://www.whoi.edu/marops/images/alvin_up.gif

Taking a ride:
http://www.whoi.edu/marops/images/alvin_inside_en.jpg

Cutaway Diagram:
http://www.whoi.edu/marops/vehicles/alvin/photos/cutaway.jpg

More Photos (http://www.whoi.edu/marops/vehicles/alvin/alvin_photos.html)

[blpeterson]

Originally posted by egarrard
I found these pics in the Alvin owner's manual:


Well Ed I see you found the sites. The pictures don't do it justice.

[blpeterson]

Not much tonight as I was on site until 2000 and I went for a run to relax afterwards. I'm heading to bed and I'm gonna wake up the hubbie and pester him.:devil

[blpeterson]

Well guys the end of the first week of TDY at Woods Hole. I'm glad I started early as the Alvin and it's support ship Atlantis are scheduled for departure on Monday for an extended research cruise.

Monday it's down to the regular work schedule which should be fun. For now I'm heading to Providence, RI to pick up Ed and we are hopefully having a quite weekend together. Both of us should be on the forums occasionally though.

Have a great weekend.:thumb

[gotenks8]

WOW thats KOOL!

[bejohnson]

Hey Guys,

It's kinda rainy here but she spent a couple of hours showing me the Atlantis and the Alvin this morning. Very impressive. She may go down to the Galvaston area and make a short dive later this month. She is excited about that.

She also is cooking diner for me tonight. She loves to cook and is a great one but never gets a chance so this is fun for her. She will not tell me what she is planning and she would not let me go to the store with her so I'm gonna be surprised. She has even told me I have to leave for a couple of hours this evening. Thank God they have pubs here.:)

We are having a great weekend. Will post later

[blpeterson]

Originally posted by bejohnson
She also is cooking diner for me tonight. She loves to cook and is a great one but never gets a chance so this is fun for her. She will not tell me what she is planning and she would not let me go to the store with her so I'm gonna be surprised. She has even told me I have to leave for a couple of hours this evening. Thank God they have pubs here.:)

We had a lovely dinner and he is cleaning the kitchen. He ran me out and told me since I made dinner he would clean up. He's such a sweetie.

Here's the menu for tonights dinner:

Home made New England clam chowder
Salad with homemade ranch dressing
Home made Seafood Newburg over puff pastry shells
Steamed Vegetables
Homemade Rolls
Apple-Cranberry Tart served warm with Vanilla Ice Cream

Do you think I'm gonna spoil him?:)

I will be working with the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) systems next week. That should be a lot of fun. Here's the URL if you are curious.

http://www.whoi.edu/marops/vehicles/index.html

[abb1]

Originally posted by blpeterson
We had a lovely dinner and he is cleaning the kitchen. He ran me out and told me since I made dinner he would clean up. He's such a sweetie.

Here's the menu for tonights dinner:

Home made New England clam chowder
Salad with homemade ranch dressing
Home made Seafood Newburg over puff pastry shells
Steamed Vegetables
Homemade Rolls
Apple-Cranberry Tart served warm with Vanilla Ice Cream

Do you think I'm gonna spoil him?:)

I will be working with the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) systems next week. That should be a lot of fun. Here's the URL if you are curious.

http://www.whoi.edu/marops/vehicles/index.html Wow, that's a hell of a meal! If you are spoiling him, I am sure he isn't going to suffer:)

[gotenks8]

yeah no kidding!

[egarrard]

Originally posted by blpeterson
We had a lovely dinner and he is cleaning the kitchen. He ran me out and told me since I made dinner he would clean up. He's such a sweetie.

Here's the menu for tonights dinner:

Home made New England clam chowder
Salad with homemade ranch dressing
Home made Seafood Newburg over puff pastry shells
Steamed Vegetables
Homemade Rolls
Apple-Cranberry Tart served warm with Vanilla Ice Cream

Do you think I'm gonna spoil him?:)

I will be working with the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) systems next week. That should be a lot of fun. Here's the URL if you are curious.

http://www.whoi.edu/marops/vehicles/index.html I still think they ought to have you grab lobsters with the thing. I mean, if you have to train with it, you might as well catch dinner while you're at it. :rofl2

[thephenom]

Originally posted by egarrard
I still think they ought to have you grab lobsters with the thing. I mean, if you have to train with it, you might as well catch dinner while you're at it. :rofl2
mmmmmm.....lobster dinner. :Nice

[blpeterson]

Originally posted by egarrard
I still think they ought to have you grab lobsters with the thing. I mean, if you have to train with it, you might as well catch dinner while you're at it. :rofl2

We are having a late lobster lunch before Ed has to leave this evening.

Lobster harvesting with Alvin or an ROV, hmmm I'll mention it and see what happens.:)

[blpeterson]

Guys I've been super busy the past couple of days with the ROV systems etc. I haven't had time to post that much at night but I did take the attached picture of the sunset tonight as I was running on the beach. Enjoy!

[egarrard]

Nice shot! I can just imagine how beautiful it was live. The red reflections on the wavetops are great.

[Maniacmous]

Agreed...if only that was a high-res shot...would make such excellent wallpaper.

[blpeterson]

I went running early this afternoon and I took this picture for Ed (egarrard). I can't go lobster picking but I think these will do the trick.:)

[egarrard]

Darn! Now I'm getting hungry! I guess I better go to the store and see if they have lobster. :lmao

Nice picture. I really like the sportfisherman on the horizon. The whole scene just make me want to be there. I'm glad to see you're having fun while you're studying.

[blpeterson]

I went for an hour run before lunch today as things are slow being it's a Friday and a most of the staff has a three day weekend. I took this picture with a borrowed Canon 1Ds. I like this camera. For $10,000 with a couple of lenses it should be nice.:)

[egarrard]

Oh yes, the 1Ds is very nice. The lenses are what burn the money, though. But worth every bit.

Nice colorful picture! :thumb :thumb

[efernandez_98]

Originally posted by egarrard
Oh yes, the 1Ds is very nice. The lenses are what burn the money, though. But worth every bit.

Nice colorful picture! :thumb :thumb very vibrant.

[egarrard]

Originally posted by blpeterson
I went running early this afternoon and I took this picture for Ed (egarrard). I can't go lobster picking but I think these will do the trick.:) http://www.thelobstercam.com/

[blpeterson]

Hey everybody,

I had a wonderful, fantastic, amazing day today. I’m in the Gulf of Mexico about 300 miles SW of New Orleans and 300 miles SE of Galveston. I’m aboard the R/V Atlantis and today I went for a practice dive in the Alvin. We descended to over 2000 feet deep and it’s a completely different world down there. Strange creatures, beautiful formations and bizarre conditions it’s like a place from another world.

I will be leaving in the morning but I will always treasure this chance to do what most people never get a chance to do and see things that most people never see and can really only be appreciated if seen up close.

I’m attaching a picture of Ice Worms. These worms are in a dome of Methane Hydrate about six feet in diameter that is at a depth of 1770 feet (540 meters). The Methane Hydrate is the yellow and white material that looks like ice. For more on Methane Hydrates go to this URL.

http://www.netl.doe.gov/scng/hydrate/about-hydrates/about_hydrates.htm

These worms were discovered in 1997 by Chief Scientist Charles Fisher, Pennsylvania State University; principal investigators Ian MacDonald of Texas A&M University, Robert Carney of Louisiana State University, Steve Macko of the University of Virginia, and Alissa Arp and David Julian of San Francisco State University. It is believed that they live of the bacteria in the Methane Hydrate.

For more information here is a good web page:

http://www-ocean.tamu.edu/Quarterdeck/QD5.3/macdonald.html

[egarrard]

That's beautiful! I'm so envious! That must have been the trip of a lifetime. Very nice capture you took. There's a lot of scuba folks in here, but I bet they've never seen anything like that. Thanks for sharing it! :luxhello

[egarrard]

How cramped was it in the sphere for that long? It looked pretty close from the pics. I don't think I could sit still for that long, no matter what I was seeing outside the hatch.

[blpeterson]

Originally posted by egarrard
How cramped was it in the sphere for that long? It looked pretty close from the pics. I don't think I could sit still for that long, no matter what I was seeing outside the hatch.

The OD of the pressure hull is 82". The hull is 1.9" thick so this is a tad over 6'-6" inside diameter. You have all the equipment in that space plus three people. Lets just sat you have to like your shipmates and you had better shower, use a good deodorant and use Beano with your meals.:) To stretch I stood under the hatch. If you were 6 inches taller than I am (5'-8") it could be a problem. BTW the hatch is a maximum of 19" in diameter so if your waist is larger than say 58 inches you couldn't get in and to be honest anyone over 40" would be uncomfortable.

[bejohnson]

Originally posted by blpeterson
The OD of the pressure hull is 82". The hull is 1.9" thick so this is a tad over 6'-6" inside diameter. You have all the equipment in that space plus three people. Lets just sat you have to like your shipmates and you had better shower, use a good deodorant and use Beano with your meals.:) To stretch I stood under the hatch. If you were 6 inches taller than I am (5'-8") it could be a problem. BTW the hatch is a maximum of 19" in diameter so if your waist is larger than say 58 inches you couldn't get in and to be honest anyone over 40" would be uncomfortable.

Can't you just see me cramming my fat butt through that hatch? If I got in my presence still would be dangerous. I eat to many beans.:Nope :lmao

[blpeterson]

Well guys this is my last night in Woods Hole. Tomorrow is transit back to Norfolk and a month's worth of backlogged work.:Holy Crap

I have just finished my report on my month's stay here. For those that are curious the report breaks down as follows:

Goal statement and expectations from the course of study - 46 pages
Outline of the month's work and accomplishments - 54 pages
Report Summery - 89 pages
Report Body - 683 pages
Reference Material List and Bibliography - 175 pages
Recommendations for future course improvements and courses of study - 71 pages
Total page count - 1118 pages

Thank God for voice recognition software.:rofl2
I'll see you around the forums.

[egarrard]

Originally posted by blpeterson
Well guys this is my last night in Woods Hole. Tomorrow is transit back to Norfolk and a month's worth of backlogged work.:Holy Crap

I have just finished my report on my month's stay here. For those that are curious the report breaks down as follows:

Goal statement and expectations from the course of study - 46 pages
Outline of the month's work and accomplishments - 54 pages
Report Summery - 89 pages
Report Body - 683 pages
Reference Material List and Bibliography - 175 pages
Recommendations for future course improvements and courses of study - 71 pages
Total page count - 1118 pages

Thank God for voice recognition software.:rofl2
I'll see you around the forums. I bet THAT makes for interesting reading... :thumb