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 |  Writings about things that have occurred in my life. Not in Chronological Order |
| Things that have happened in my life, good or bad. The entries will not be in Chronological order |
What widely-accepted piece of advice is actually total bull....? (I try tro keep my entries at the E-Rating level) This has to do with making your bed. My other half firmly believes that advice from a 'Professional' a.k.a. Martha Stewart, should be followed. In this case, we disagree over her advice about making the bed in the morning. If (when) I lived alone, I didn't make my bed. My thoughts were, I'm just going to mess it up tonight when I crawl back in it, so why make it now? It just makes sense to me. In reading 'How To Make Your Bed' on https://www.marthastewart.com/8100423/how-make-bed-martha-tips, she must think that everyone has the amount of money she does. She forgets that many can't afford nice sheets, don't have the comforts of life that she does, and has really lost touch with the 'average American'. I'm an adult, I don't need advice on how to make my bed, IF I choose to make it. I will forget the part about nice sheets and such, what really gets me, and is the cause of our disagreement, is the idea that the top sheet should be placed with the print side down. This way, when folded back, you can see the print. I don't know about you, but when I pull my sheet back, I'm getting in bed and going to sleep. I am NOT examining the top sheet print to see how beautiful, IF it's beautiful. I buy plain sheets, so what's to see? But she insists the top sheet be print side down. My argument is that it doesn't help us sleep better, doesn't change or help any 'late night activity', all it does is cover us. So it can be placed however we choose. Another thing that gets me, is the old 'Toilet Tissue Roll' placement. Do you put it in the holder so it unrolls over the top, or from the bottom? What a stupid argument/discussion! All I care about is that it unrolls when I need it to. I don't want it to be like some rolls of tape, where you search for an hour trying to find the end so you can use it for less than five minutes. It can be placed however you want, as long as ir works. It's stupid things like this that really get me. Another petty thing that gets to me? Someone who's quite willing to tell you how intelligent or smart they are. That's petty of me, I know. But it bugs me. There's too much about it to go into here, heck, I could write a novel length entry on that subject, so no, not going into it here. I think someone who does that must be pretty insecure about many things. So there you have it, on the last day of 2021, the last 1.75 hours of 2021 for me really. I hope y'all have a safe and fantastic night. Celebrate however you wish, just be safe my friends. That's all for now. Aren't you glad? Till next time, y'all be good, take care of yourselves, and love those who love you. And of course, keep on writing! |
Living On A Submarine Have you ever wondered what it's like being on a Submarine for an extended period of time? You haven't? Don't worry, most people haven't, it's okay. But tonight I thought I'd share a few things about Submarine life. First, I know I've written about life on a submarine 'in general'. The drills, qualifications, lack of sleep, etc. This entry will be a little different. A Fleet Ballistic Missile (FBM) Submarine leaves port to start its Patrol. A patrol last about 60 days (my longest was 73), and is full of challenges. It submerges as soon as it can, and usually doesn't surface until the patrol is completed. But think about a few things. How does the crew survive all that time? I mean, how does their air stay fresh and breathable? How does the crew get fresh water or oxygen? Just by breathing, Carbon Dioxide ( CO2) is created, and Carbon Monoxide (CO) is created by those who smoke, and other processes. And what happens to all the waste (Trash, human waste, etc.) So I'll write about that tonight. First, there is a space (compartment) on the boat called various names, depending on the class of submarine. I'll call it Air Regen, short for the Air Regeneration Room. In that small space, we created our own Oxygen and stored it in Oxygen banks that were in the Ballast Tanks. (The Ballast Tanks are what allow a submarine to either Submerge, or Surface). We would take Purified Water and separate it by Electrolysis into Hydrogen and Oxygen. Of course we'd store the Oxygen in those Oxygen Banks. Hydrogen though, is an explosive gas, so we had to dispose of it. Near that Oxygen Generator was a piece of machinery known as a CO-H2 Burner, we just called it the Burner. It contained a Catalyst bed that would turn the Carbon Monoxide into CO2. It operated at a temperature of about 700 degrees Fahrenheit. The Hydrogen was separated from the CO2 and pumped overboard. More on the CO2 in a minute. So, we'd generated and stored Oxygen for us, and processed the Carbon Monoxide into Carbon Dioxide. Now about that CO2. Near that 'Burner' is a machine called a CO2 Scrubber, which we of course just called a 'Scrubber'. It used a liquid chemical called Monoethanolamine, or Amine. Amine has a curious property in that it absorbs CO2 when hot, and when cooled, it releases it. Heated Amine is sort of sprayed in a cylinder that has air containing CO2 flowing through it. The heated Amine absorbs the CO2 This is then pumped to a reservoir where it is cooled, releasing its loads of CO2. The CO2 is briefly stored before being pumped overboard. Now we've gotten rid of CO, CO2, and Hydrogen. But what about trash and human waste? First, how to get rid of trash. The boat had a vertical tube that essentially was a chute. We emptied it by pumping the water out, then opened the top cover. The crew had taken their garbage and put it into special mesh bags which were then loaded into cans. The cans were sheet metal that had been rolled that night into those cans. Several ten pound weights were added to ensure the cans didn't float (trapped air might cause that). Once the tube was full of cans, the cover was closed, and the tube flooded. Then the bottom valve was opened, and the cans would fall out and end up on the bottom of the ocean. This was repeated until all the trash was disposed of. A hot, messy job that everyone hated. Thankfully, being a Nuclear Trained Petty Officer, I never had to do that. About that human waste. Our toilets (and sinks) in the 'head' (bathroom/restroom) drained to a large tank. But those tanks filled up after a day or so, and needed to be emptied. We didn't pump the contents overboard, that would have made too much noise. So we would ensure every vent valve was closed, hang signs to warn the crew that Sanitary Tanks were being blown, and blow the contents overboard. The thing is though, the tanks couldn't be blown until they were empty. That would make too much noise also. So we'd stop blowing before they were completely empty. Now we have a pressurized tank that smells to high-heaven, and needs to be vented. They were vented inboard through charcoal filters. Still, the 'head' and the surrounding area smelled horribly for a while. But by doing all this, we had a space we could live (or survive) in, with somewhat 'fresh' air. The length of time a submarine can remain at sea is dependent on two things really. Crew endurance, and the amount of food that could be stored on board, about 60 days as I've said. And there you have it, how the crew managed to keep the air fresh and 'clean' (if it was so clean, why did I buy new clothes after every patrol?), and trash/waste disposed of. That's all for now. Aren't you glad? Till next time, y'all be good, take care of yourselves, and love those who love you. And of course, keep on writing! |
A Year Of Discovery I've discussed the health issues I learned about this year, and since it's now December, I thought I'd give any readers an update. But first, a 'timeline' of sorts for 2021. January: I went to Flagler County Florida the first week, and as it's turned out, that was my only field class for the year. The rest of January was spent teaching from home. These classes had been on my schedule for a while, so things were normal, or so I thought. February: I had seen my doctor about the terrible cough I had, and a CT Scan of my Sinuses and chest was completed early in the month. On the first Friday in February, we went to Peoria on a quick excursion; it was the return trip that was an eye-opener. I came to a stop sign at the interstate exit and started coughing. I thought I was okay but wasn't. The light turned green, and I pulled out like normal. Halfway through a left-hand turn, I passed out and ended up driving my van over a curb. I blew my left front tire and slightly scraped the bottom of the quarter panel (is it still called that?) in front of the tire. Long story short, the tire shop ended up replacing the tire, both tie rods on the left side and one on the right, along with something called the 'Knee'. Monday night I couldn't lie down because of the cough and ended up going to the ER. In Triage, the person who took my vitals decided I should be admitted. I spent 2 days there undergoing all sorts of tests. Later in the month, I was referred to an ENT, who ran his own tests, and wanted me seen by an Allergist. I also visited a Gastroenterologist that month, more tests. March: Testing, probing, blood samples continued to be drawn by the doctors I was seeing, and I was told I have Asthma. Strange, I thought people with Asthma had breathing difficulties, and while I had that terrible cough, I could breathe just fine. As it turns out, my lungs were not functioning properly, I failed every breathing test that measured lung capacity. April: The Allergist's test had shown that my immune system was not functioning properly, the readings were 'out-of-whack'. For any medical people who read this, my IG-A was pretty high, and my IG-G was very low. She referred me to a Hematologist. It was at this point that I realized I might be far more ill than I could imagine. May: The ENT performed Sinus surgery on May 26, and that really helped! About that same time, the Hematologist informed me that I have Multiple Myeloma, a rare form of Blood Cancer. June-December: I started Chemo Therapy in June. Fortunately, it was 'only' a weekly Subcutaneous shot (Velcade), and daily oral Meds of Revlimid (three weeks of taking the oral meds, 1 week not taking them, then repeat). This has continued all year. I was also prescribed Dexamethasone, a Steroid designed to counteract any iff-effects of the Chemo drugs. However, both Revlimid and Dexamethasone cause insomnia. I take the Dex on Fridays, I'm lucky to get 4 hours of sleep that night. October-December: In October, my left hand started going numb. At first it was minor, almost amusing. As time passed (a couple of days, not weeks) more of the hand was affected. Now, it's difficult to use it at all. My left arm is weak, I have trouble even opening the door to exit my van. It's hard to hold a fork (I'm left-handed) and eat, I cannot write much at all. When I do, it looks like the writing of a five-year-old. An MRI was done on my cervical spine, it revealed minor Hernias at the C2-C3, C3-C4, and C4-C5 junctions. A moderate size hernia exists at the C5-C6 junction, and a large hernia exists at the C6-C7 junction. On Tuesday, 12/14, I will visit a Neuro-Surgeon for evaluation, we'll see what path they want to pursue. The hernia at the C6-C7 junction is the cause of the numbness in my left hand. IF they opt for surgery, that operation is performed by entering the front of the throat. As I like to say, this too shall pass. It's been quite the year really, healthwise. On a personal level, I've had several challenges. But I'm still better off than many. Plus, I have had several sad moments this year. I lost two special friends at Motorola due to Cancer in July and August. The man who did basic yard maintenance for us passed due to Cancer in November. My ex-Mother-In-Law (a woman I considered a second mother) passed due to Dementia/Alzheimer's in September after spending 20 months alone in a nursing home, and another close friend passed due to the same cause in June. I've never had a year where that many people I know personally passed on. Life goes on, it always does. I keep that in mind. I also keep in mind two poems I wrote a while ago. They guide me far more than I thought they would when I wrote them.
That's all for now. Aren't you glad? Till next time, y'all be good, take care of yourselves, and love those who love you. And of course, keep on writing! |
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Oops... there she blows!
