Yes, I’m back in Alaska

Problem with Anchorage is I know too many ppl and places plus kids, parents and the ex-wife. It is way to easy to fall back into the same old grind. Well I have a lot of thoughts, and it has been along time since I have posted so here goes. Let me first; apologize for the random stream of consciousness but it all qualifies as Life.

Little Bro's ashes, I really don't want to put him in some fancy urn on my mantle. I don't even have a fire place. So, here's the plan …scatter him in three places. One is downtown Anchorage across from the old hospital, by the Park Strip, at the house we lived in when he was born. Second is at the mouth of the Kasilof River where we used to dip net red salmon. Third is at Beach lake in Birchwood where he used to party. I was thinking of making some Uncle Bubba geocache sites also but, Alaska has so many geocaches it isn't that unique. Maybe I will start an Uncle Bubba travel bug.

Mom and Dad, arrrgh Well I have sent about ½ of my three weeks home at mom and dad's house down in Soldotna. Dad is totally gone. Retirement and the complete lack of any activity as allowed the PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) to take over. Pops is a Korea and 2x Vietnam combat vet. He is constantly paranoid and paces around the house. He is not eating and I had to tell mom to call the doctor and take him to the hospital because he has lost so much weight, he was in for a week to get his weight and fluids up. Mom is in complete denial on how bad the situation is….mom historically isn't as incompetent as she seems in this situation but perhaps Bubba and Aunt Rose dying within 3 month of each other has had an effect? Last Sunday the boyz drove down for dinner and after dinner Dad announced that the food was poisoned….he is paranoid on the verge of psychotic. We had to explain the food was good, we all cooked it and it was safe to eat. Talking to my sister later it became clear that he is just scared shitless of everything. I guess it, the PTSD, has always been in the background but retirement left nothing to screen the weird behavior like working did. Sigh… we all saw it, there were lots of signs, but we didn't recognize the gravity until it was too late. Long story short, I told mom he needs to go to a psychiatric institute or hospital he is too much for her to take care of at home.

Yow, I remember going thru the times when everyone was getting married then having kids. This new phase of growing old and dying isn't too exciting. Speaking of kids I learned a valuable lesson. DON'T LET UR 21YO SON LIVE IN UR HOUSE WHILE YOU'RE GONE. Duh…apparently there was a party or two. Being the resourceful father I am, I hit the kid's roommate's blog to get any 411 on the said affair(s). Read http://wanghunglo.livejournal.com the Jan 4th entry. Young dude Wanghunglo owes me a mirror. I have also deduced that the broken tap explains the dark stains on the walls and ceiling of the bathroom. At least it appears to have been a decent dark/amber keg. Good thing is both boyz are enrolled in college, and currently have jobs. Primo is planning Segondo's 20th BD party. I have obtained written affidavits that the party will not be at the house.

Hmmm lots of details above but few thoughts, I'll summarize. I am torn about being back in Anchorage, some good feelings and lot of bad feeling. It is like I never left same old crap to deal with. I need to be gone before it snows, winter here will be depressing. I really miss my brother Bubba. http://www.myspace.com/welovebubba I don't want to be responsible for my parents, hell I'm not done with raising my own kids yet. However, I'm close to being done with kids, and the boyz are turning out pretty kewl so far.

Yup, nothing was said about relationships and future work. You could say I saved the hard topics for later. Next post will be free entrepreneurial ideas for young adventuresome capitalist eager to earn millions.

Work still sucks

Hmmm... didn't I say a wanted to quit engineering entirely after the last job I left? yeah... and if I had to go back it better be an easy job in a really cool location. Well, Kwaj has been a classic example of getting what u ask for. This is facilities engineering circa 1987. I'm sooo ready to blow this popsicle stand.

In fact I have posted/replied to 35 jobs online since Feb mostly in the Pacific and west coast Only have gotten 4 or 5 nibbles with one firm offer, a project located in LAX, double yuck. Point being, there is alot of online frog kissing going on with very few job offers. I'm expecting an offer for a job in Australia it would be adventurous but, it is getting pretty far away from the folks. So I may tell them no. not sure yet? I have a position in CA in the making also, new power plant with CO2 capture (really cool project wrt the enviroment and all). See, I have added an additional professional focus...to help ppl. Don't worry, easy and cool location is still in! No more engineering for the military or big oil.

Sounds good don't it?? Till I look at my bank account, sigh some times I really hate capitalism. so ho'ing (engineering for the money, just with a different part of the body) still may happen despite all of my social ranting. Sigh...I'm really starting to think work will always suck, cause I'll probadly always need money.

My Brother Bubba

Hello all

Yeah it has been along time since my last post and most of the time has been devoted to south pacific fun with the exception of the last three weeks. That is because I found out that my younger brother is dying. Get this, he has advanced cancer. A melanoma from a lesion on the sole of his foot spread into his lymph nodes and now it is at "stage 4" whatever that means. Can you image a black man, living in Seattle, getting skin cancer on the bottom of his foot? People get webbed feet in Seattle not skin cancer. As the cancer specialist said "hmmm this is extremely rare". He just turned forty. The doctors gave 6 months to possible 5 year time frame but I don't see him lasting longer than a year. Things seem to be deteriorating pretty fast while I was there.

So last week, I flew to Seattle and spent time with him. He was a blast, in good spirits and very accepting of his fate. At first I was angry because he was not going for life but my brother has always been easy going and very far from the coffee generation overachiever. Radiation and surgery are out of the question and with a 1 in seven chemo chance he said the hell with it, " I already feel sick why make myself miserable also". I know, I know, I tried the homeopathic/alternative medicine speech. Christ you can only lead a horse to water. I guess trying to beat 1:7 odds on a terminal illness would be too much work for him. More effort than he has ever put out in his life on anything but; he is the only person that can do it. We, meaning family, can all help him but he needs to be mentally there first and he isn't yet with time rapidly running out. That would be called acceptance.

My eldest sister Lorraine flew into Seattle, from Atlanta two days earlier. Big sis was cool and matriarchal, at first I was annoyed but man she was in charge and that helped ground me a bit. Mom and Dad flew down from Alaska two days after me. Each of us stayed for about a week, honestly the staggered family arrival and departure worked out pretty good. We had some fun, and ate good food, Salumi's downtown Seattle was great and 13 Coins late night is a SeaTac must for me.

Emotionally how am I? Hell, I don't know. Yes I'm sad, and sometimes I cry, but honestly getting divorced was more gut wrenching. Way lots more anger, hate and heartbreak. I'm mostly sad and reflective. I left a lot of stress and stuff to escape out here and not learn any more lessons in life for awhile. Sigh I guess life really includes all of the tragedy, pain, heartache, and joy (emotional stuff) along with adventures.

I love my Brother ..

Pacific Dining USAKA Style

Hello all

Just a short note to let you know I’m still alive and kicking in the South Pacific. The most FAQ from my friends, are about island women...NO Comment! The second most FAQ is about the food. So after several attempts to attach the dining hall intranet web site with the Café Pacifica menu, which failed because, is blocked by the local IT folks. Meaning you can only see the menu while at work???. I have decided to write a summary e-mail about the food served in the PDR (local slang for Pacific Dining Room which in the early years was call the Subsistence Building). Honestly, some of the food isn't bad, and you have to give props to the cooks for being creative and adventuresome.

There is a huge variety in the menu.

Sometimes Italian; Ratatouille, Spaghetti w/Bolognese Sauce, Ham Marco Polos, Jardinière (ok so this is French but still most folks wouldn't know it)

or Mexican; Smoked Pork Carnitas. Chorizo Enchiladas, Tex Mex Fresh Veg., Spanish Rice/Tortillas, Beans Supreme??? (Yeah baby!!!, this is culinary vision. Forget taco supreme, burrito supreme, nachos supreme. Just go straight to the supreme beans)

Even Asian; Sweet & Sour Pork, Korean Beef Steak, Thai Veg. Pasta (this was horrible! Imagine fettuccine noodles with some peanut butter mixed in arrrgh), Oriental Fried Rice

OK so it is a menu of mix Asian cultures but hey the dudes be cooking. Sometimes, two or three times a week, there is just weird shit like, collard greens w/carrots? Great fish though, Broiled Mahi Mahi, Pan Seared Ahi.

I have hunch that chicken is the most popular food in the world. Chicken is almost a three time a day stable here and rice is also served at every meal including breakfast (eggs silly). Here are the lunch and dinner chicken selections from the last two weeks.
1. Kwaj Fried Chicken
2. Chicken Peapod Stir Fry,
3. Crispy Baked Chicken
4. Chicken Sukiyaki (yup Tuesday was Asian food night)
5. Breaded Chicken Strips w/ BBQ & Ranch,
6. Lemon Herb Roast Chicken
7. Chicken Fajitas
8. Oven Fried Chicken (really could be Crispy Baked Chicken)
9. Chicken Corn Saute
10. Sweet & Sour Chicken
11. BBQ Chicken
12. Herb Broiled Chicken
13. Roast Cornish Hen w/Fresh Herbs (yes these are chickens, lil bitty chickens but still chickens),
14. Spicy Chicken Curry
15. Louisiana Chicken & Crab Soup,
16. Chicken Veg. Stir Fry
17. Chicken Cordon Bleu
18. Szechuan Chicken
19. Oven Fried Chicken (not Oven Fried Chicken again)
20. Chicken Sukiyaki
21. Herb Roast Chicken (out of lemon again)
22.Spicy Buffalo Wings w/Celery & Bleu Cheese
23.Chicken Fried Chicken (ok this one had me.believe it or not this was served with "natural gravy")

The long and short of it is one must be very selective. Some things are good, other things are horrible. So farI have lost about 5lbs. When in doubt I eat the chicken.

P.S. Get the latest version of GOOGLE EARTH and see where I am

Be still my heart

Howdy all

This is a copy clip from a recent e-mail from my last gf. She is a pretty awesome woman and had to share. What I really want to do [this week] is electro-chemistry. From The Hydrogen Economy: "So, the more evolved and complex the social organism, the more energy is required to sustain it and the more entropy is produced in the process of maintaining it. This simple reality flies in the face of orthodox economic theory. In fact, neither capitalism nor socialism is capable of accommodating the harsh 'real-world' realities imposed on society and the environment by the first and second laws of thermodynamics." The use of wind, geothermal, solar, etc., to power electrolysis to create storable, transportable hydrogen is very attractive. Don't worry, I'm also reading The Hype About Hydrogen, which seeks to debunk hydrogen as the silver bullet. Oh man nothing like a little "thermo" between engineers. Hindsight is 20/20 sigh... oh well, the good thing is we're still good friends. Next Post is Ebeye I promise

S-PAP

Friends, howdy from Kwaj.

OK I'm sorry it has been a long time since I have posted. However, the good news is I have finalized mylong awaited (S-PAP) South Pacific Action Plan. Yes, in true engineer fashion I couldn't just "Do It". I had to plan it. In addition, since Im saturated in this military world, I gave it a pretty neat acronym. The plan is divided into two parts; personal task and professional task.

Personal task
Marshallese culture emersion. Get boat access and tour the Atoll islands. Learn Marshallese, visit Majuro the capital and hopefully get to other atolls. Basically get to know the Marshallese ppl and escape the USA influence. This place has 2000 Americans and 1500 Marshallese that come over from Ebeye everyday to work. I think, but Im not sure, the wages are substantially lower for them than USA folks, sharecropping comes to mind. I got a Marshallese CD from the liaison officer. This should be good cause, I stink at languages. I'll post for sure the trip(s) to Ebeye separately.

Fishing, deep sea, and saltwater fly fishing. A few Tuna, Ahi, Ono, and Mahi-Mahi. The locals catch some other reef fishes with hand nets. I dont know what those are and some of them have ciguatera toxins. The authorities say dont get reef fish??? Ok so far I have take the two written test to get your B-boat license. They have these really hot 22" Twin-Vees with 115 hp Yamahas for rent 40 buck for four hours plus gas. Get this gas is $1.80/gallon.

I am also on task to shake of my water phobia and perhaps do some snorkeling and/or scuba. I have never been a water person. I think it is the whole fire sign thing, plus always wearing glasses. Not a big priority until I get the underwater vision issue solved. Bi-focal goggles if you please. Being cheap here, insurance covers eye exams, but insurance isnt active until the first of June. Imagine living on an island and you can't see in the water, Christ sakes. So I need to wait, get some prescription goggles, and then attempt snorkel and scuba. Hell that shit is big out here. Sorry, surf-daddy aint happin.

Paint ten 9x12 watercolors and perhaps write some short stories or something. I joined the KAG (Kwajalein Artist Guild) met some cool ppl. This is working on the next career. Whatever moves me in the direction of royalties? This is the last engineering job I hope. Yeah I said that about the last engineering job Christ. This job is heavy suckage personified. I know, I know, I said I wont complain about work arrrgh.

Professional Task
Regain my past AutoCAD proficiency. This is the only real professional goal I can think of. Perhaps get my PMP certificate but hey if Im looking at royalties in the future who needs it. No hot keys, no layer keys, no templates. I have a draftsman that cant do xrefs. ha ha I mentioned Tri-Services layering standards once lol. That gives you a glimpse of the work/job situation. Beyond AutoCAD there is no engineering software here, none of any type period. I mention the lack of load analysis software in a meeting and was told to use a slide rule, they thought it was funny??? Oops was I complaining?

That is all for now G-Daddy Tropicus


P.S. I have a data cable issue to solve. As soon as I fix it hopefully, pictures will follow.

A Small Irony

Hiho all (for some reason I have been thinking of Kermit the Frog)

Anyway how about a Kwajalein update. OK first some parameters. I ain't gonna complain about work. It is a job, it pays, and I'm out here for the adventure. However, excluding job complaints does not let the Company nor location off of the hook. I will often reflect and narrate on those conditions.

Today's topic folks, is irony. It is all over and I'm really trying to keep the sarcasm from bursting out. I have had three different orientation session; EH&S orientation, New employee orientation, and Island orientation, all without a compass or GPS. I'm all orienteered out. Btw my GPS is so old the Marshall Islands don't show up on any view less than 500 miles. Looks like I need a new one lol. OK back to the topic. Bit of history, this was the site of Operation Flintlock, the battle of Kwajalein. Oh about 1945 the US pounded this place with artillery, we're talking mass tonnage of ordinance, soldiers landed and slaughtered the entrenched Japanese. In 1945 this place was leveled and has never recovered. There are big pits in the reef that were blasted out for material used to extend the island. The liberated coral was also used for the concrete aggregate used in almost all of the older buildings.

In addition, this is an active US Army installation, being the army brat; I have been on a few Army Post and AF Bases. The point is military installations are not green environmentally friendly spaces. OK here is the ironic part; they had a big Earth Day Celebration 2006 here. I look around and want to cry, my boyhood visions of Treasure Island have been trashed. I could see, Earth Day awareness, a small wake perhaps? But celebration plleeezzs. I need to get off this island and see some other atolls. The real deal, is most of the US activities are channeled to this, the Kwajalein Atoll. You need permission from the RMI (Republic of Marshall Island) to go anywhere else. Our security is so tight we also need to get passes and permission to leave and go anywhere else.

Here is my partial island adventure plan.

1. Be quiet and not complain about the job. Yes G-Daddy will try to be a complacent worker bee. arrrgh is that bile I taste?
2. Try to learn Marshallese, sigh I am not good at languages.
3. Then hopefully I can go to Ebeye (pronounced E-bye) and make friends with folks from other atolls speaking Marshallese.
4. Get to at least three other atolls.

Here is a final don't do if any of y'all get a job out here. Do not ask about radiation in the EH&S (environmental heath and safety) orientation. We are not suppose to mention that however, there are some RF hazards I have actually gotten a Marshall Island history white paper, from one of those orientations, that does not even mention that the USA set off 67 atomic weapons out here. The atolls of Bikini and Enewetak where evacuated. Five islands in Enewetak Atoll were literally vaporized. OK next time more on the Island Adventure Plan