The Weekend Already?

Oh, well....been pretty busy at work getting ready for the next launch.

The customer finished fueling the satellite today (UDMH) after spending Monday and Tuesday putting the oxidizer (NTO) into it. They take a one day break to clean all the equipment, and make sure the lines are purged.

While they were busy doing those tasks, we've been checking out our telemetry equipment, and some other radio links we use to allow the customer to command and monitor their satellite.

Next week things will really start rolling, as once they've completely fueled and checked out their bird, it will get "floated" from the fueling bay to the encapsulation bay where it will get tested again, and then "encapsulated" into the payload fairing, or "Nose Cone" for all the civvies out there. Then we do the final RF testing, and it gets rolled over to the ACS to get mated to the Launch Vehicle.

After some more testing, and a full-on live data flow from end-to-end going through NASA's TDRSS satellites, it gets transferred over to the Launch Platform.

After some more testing, it get rolled out, erected, and a full-on "dry" (unfueled) countdown takes place, usually a very long day. This is when we make our final adjustments, and the customer runs all their pre-flight tests. Except for fueling the Launch Vehicle, and running our RF systems at reduced power, this is the real thing. If anything goes wrong, it has to be fixed before we leave. Things usually go well, but it still winds up being a 12~14 hour day.

The last launch we did with this customer was a real Charlie Foxtrot, as they didn't follow the script we gave them, they took off for dinner without telling us ( ! ), and I wound up being there 18 hours. NOT a fun day!

If all goes well, the platform stands down for a day, and then sets off to the launch site. The command ship follows four days later, and for this one I'll be on the dock wishing them a "Bon Voyage".

I'll be a tiny bit sad not going on this, my "last" launch, but I don't want to take ANY chances with my health. If I were to have another cardiac episode, it would be a MINIMUM of 36 hours before I could be in a hospital, but more likely it would be 72+ hours. I've been on missions where we had some seriously sick people, and I know how long it takes to get somebody to a "Full Service" hospital.

No thanks, but I can do without that particular uncertainty!

Today's Lesson On Irony

From a friend......

Lessons on irony

These three statements tell you a lot about our government and our culture:

1. We are advised to NOT judge ALL Muslims by the actions of a few lunatics, but we are encouraged to judge ALL gun owners by the actions of a few lunatics.  Funny how that works.

And another statement for consideration--

2. We constantly hear about how Social Security is going to run out of money. How come we never hear about welfare running out of money?  What's interesting is the first group "worked for" their money, but the second didn't.

Finally ...

3. The Food Stamp Program, administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is proud to be distributing this year the greatest amount of free Meals and Food Stamps ever --- to 47 million people, as of the most recent figures available in 2013.

Meanwhile...

The National Park Service, administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior, asks us "Please Do Not Feed the Animals. "The stated reason for this policy is because "The animals will grow dependent on handouts and will not learn to take care of themselves."

Thus Ends Today's Lesson On Irony

RAIN!

And lots of it.

Haven't been on the PC much, as I *finally* got the new one I built a while back online as my daily driver, and had to transfer a ton of data from the old one to this one, and then verify everything transferred over correctly.

But holy smokes has it been raining here! We've gotten almost 3" of rain in the last couple of days, and it's pouring again.

The backyard looked like a swamp this morning, but it had pretty much drained out by 10am, but it's filling up again.

The first winter I lived here we got several inches in about 48 hours, and the "drainage" we have couldn't cope with it, and I was seriously considering heading out the Harbor Freight to get a pump. Hasn't been nearly as bad this year, and this last major line of rain should be through here tonight, and the showers will be tapering off through Sunday morning and afternoon.

Pebbles (the dog) heard her first thunder this afternoon, and jumped out of her bed running around to see what made the noise. The next boomer that rolled through startled her pretty good, so I calmed her down, and now she seems used to it.

Hope she'll be OK on July 4th......

"2CELLOSlive".....These Guys Are Amazing

Heard about them tonight on Sirius/XM as I was driving home.

Just amazing stuff.




And if you don't care for cello renditions of Nirvana, here's their own YouTube page.

I Feel A Great Disturbance In The Force

I just found out the Brigid's dog, Barkley, has left us.

Having been through this, please say a little prayer for dear Brigid, and Partner in Grime.

  

 Barkley

July 11, 2003 - February 24, 2014

                             

YAAAAWN........

Didn't get a damn thing done today that I had planned except check my mail, and play with the dog.

The wife was running around all morning, so Pebbles and I played in the back yard off and on for a couple of hours, then it was lunch time, then nap time.

Only my planned 45 minute nap lasted two hours, which means I'm groggy when I wake up, and it takes me another two hours to get going, and then it's dinner time, and I tend to get sleepy after dinner, and well....you know the rest.


Well, actually I did get a few things done. I measured the cabinets in the kitchen, and "inventoried" the number of doors, drawers, hinges, and knobs for future use as we're going to get them refinished soon, and it's nice to be able to tell the contractors what we have, and how much.

And I took the wiring harness apart that connected the "old" Sony headunit to the OEM wiring in the Supra. I bought a set of connectors with leads that fit the Toyota connectors so I can just make a plug-and-play harness, like the one that the Sony had on it.

Only I misplaced the connectors somewhere.......

I figured, what the heck, I already have a set of plugs that fit on the Sony harness, so I'll just make a drawing of what color Toyota wires connect to the Sony wires, and then compare the Sony color code to the color code for the new Alpine CDE-134HD I bought, and then cut the Toyota connectors off the Sony harness, and connect them to the Alpine plug/wire assembly.

The installers who did this job back about 1999~2000 used really cheap electrical tape to bundle everything together, and if you've ever done any wiring, you know what really cheap electrical tape turns into after six months, let alone 14~15 years.

Yep, an ooey-gooey mess!

Took me about half an hour to clean the glop off all the wires before I could even bring it into the house.

Oh well, drawing is made, Toyota plugs cut off, and the new harness is soldered together.

I won't install the new radio until after I finish ripping out the interior, clean it, install the new carpets I ordered, and put it back together partially so I can test everything.

The carpets by the vestigial back "seats" are in good condition, and the carpet in the rear cargo area looks OK, but the front carpet is just completely shot. The clutch master cylinder failed at some time in the past, dumping all the hydraulic fluid inside the car as these cars are prone to do, and the driver's side carpet is permanently stained. The front carpets are also faded badly to the point they're several shades lighter. My wife though we could just clean them up, and maybe redye them, but after I pulled the center console, she could see the difference in the color between where the sun never shone, and where it did, so she agreed that the carpets were shot, and should be replaced.

The new carpet should be here in about two weeks, right about the time we'll in full-blown pre-departure testing for the next launch, which is now scheduled for April 15th.

Going In Today For My Cardiac "Stress Test" On The Treadmill **UPDATED**

Wonder if it will be different than the last time I took one.

I'm 12 pounds down now from December when my Doctor told me I had to lose 30 by July. My weight will go up and down a couple of pounds during the week, but the trend has been DOWNWARD since December.

The procedure called for me to NOT take my Metoprolol this morning, but to take the Losartan, Plavix, aspirin, Furosemide, along with my Glipizide and Metformin as I normally do.

Yeah, my nightstand looks like a mini Pharmacy!

The last time I saw my Cardiologist she was quite pleased with my progress, and got quite a chuckle out of my "Toyota Physical Fitness Plan". They ran an EKG on me, and all looks good, with no signs of any complications.

The Stress Test I'm taking today will be the next-to-the-last hurdle in getting myself declared fit for Sea Duty. The last step will be conferring with my regular Doctor, and deciding if I'm fit for sea duty.

The HR lady called me in last week (she's 'outsourced' and is only on-site once a week) to see how I've been doing. She also informed me that regardless of what the Doctor says, the final decision will be mine, and mine alone, and the company cannot legally hold it against me if I decide not to go to sea.

The medical care onboard is geared more towards "industrial" type injuries, and if I were to have another "cardiac incident", it could be 72 hours before they could get me to a real hospital.

If something happens on the way to the launch site, the options are to turn around, or divert to Hawaii.

If something happens at the launch site, we have to haul a$$ to Kiritimati, where the US Coast Guard would airlift me to Hawaii on a C-130.

I've been on several launches where this has happened, so I "know the drill", and how long it takes.

In a way, I'm looking forward to this "Last Launch" for me, as it will be #20 that I've been on, but in another way, I'm not looking forward to going. The company has crippled our Internet availability, with all sites that are "Online Communities", "Auction Sites", "Photo Sharing Services", and dozens of more categories , being completely blocked to us.

This means 99% of the Ham Radio and Automotive sites I enjoy after hours are blocked, along with eBay, and ALL blogging sites.

I could easily say "I'm not going", and (allegedly) there would be no repercussions, but in a strange way I feel some sort of obligation to go, do the job properly, see another satellite soar into space, and then come home and hang up my toolbelt, Spectrum Analyzer, Signal Generator, and DMM.

I'll just have to see how the test goes today, and what the Doctor says......


UPDATE

Well, the test went fine, although it took much longer than I thought it would.

I was wired up with a 10-lead EKG setup, a blood pressure, pulse, and Oxygen uptake monitor, and an IV in my left hand.

The IV was one of those "Just In Case" things, and was also used to push some special contrast enhancer into my bloodstream so the ultrasound measurements would be easier to read.

The test went fine, and the Cardiologist said I'm in good condition, and encouraged me to keep at the weight loss program, and to continue with various types of aerobic exercise.

I'll have my regular quarterly check-up with my normal Doctor in early March, and that's when he'll sign off my medical certificate.

Geeez.....Did The Vet Give Me The Same Dog Back?

We just can't believe this is the same dog we had before.

Ever since the drugs wore off, she's like a different dog.

Very playful, tail always wagging, doesn't bark when people or other dogs go by on the sidewalk, and does NOT bark at the mailman!

And all her wounds are healing very nicely. Last Friday I took her to the vet, and he pulled out the drainage tubes, and gave her a once over, pronouncing her fit and well, and well on her way to a full recovery.

Quite a change from the "whipped puppy" she was after I got the other dog off of her.

I guess removing the "Bad Influence" from our house has brought out the dog that was hiding inside her!

Welcome Home, Soldier

I don't watch football. Just never cared for it. But, the Superbowl has a reputation for having some pretty good commercials, and this is one of the better ones.

USS Iowa "Birthday Bash" Coming Up On 2/22/2014

Join BIARA (Battleship Iowa Amateur Radio Association) as we activate
NI6BB to celebrate the 71st birthday of BB-61's original commissioning on Feb. 22, 1943, along with the Iowa Plankowner Tribute Wall Official Unveiling, and our "Charter Party" as the ARRL presents us with
our certificate of affiliation.

Operations will follow our usual "Rule of 61" working our way down from 28461 through 24961, 21361, 18161 and ending up at 14261 MHz.

Operations are expected to be between 1730 and 2330 UTC. QSL per instructions on QRZ.com.

$680 at the Vet Today, and We're Now a "One Dog" Family

WELL......it happened again this afternoon, and I almost couldn't get them apart.

It was the usual "Mailman Thing", and this time the big dog went at the little one with full force.

I threw water on them, threw blankets on them, swatted him with a magazine, and finally resorted to belting him with a 1x6 from the Ikea chest unit I was working on.

He broke loose, and as she started to run away, he went right back at her, TWICE.

I absolutely hate hitting dogs, but I was getting desperate, so I really walloped him with the pine board I had. He stopped long enough that I was able to get the little dog away from him and outside.

I brought back in the fold-up kennel, set it up, and opened the door to it, and yelled at him to get in there, which he promptly did.

The house looked like a crime scene, with blood on the walls from where he body-slammed her into the walls, blood on the floor from her torn ear, and blood on the sideboard cabinet in our bedroom where he chased her in and cornered her on my side of our bed. I butt-stroked him with my Remington 870 to break him off, and that's when he chased her back out into the living room where I finally walloped him with the board hard enough to get his attention, and hustled her outside.

I had to sit down for about ten minutes to catch my breath before I could call my wife and tell her "Swisher is OUT of here", so she called the guy we got them from, and he's on his way over now to take Swisher back.

Pebbles has a left ear with about 20 stitches in it, two drainage tubes stitched in her back where he chomped her, and two in her right foreleg where he also chomped her.

And she's got several other wounds that the Vet said were surface wounds, and he cleaned them, and probed them to make sure they weren't deep, and put in a couple of more stitches.

Pebbles is sleeping on the small dog bed, drifting in and out of the anesthesia, and whimpering, and Swisher is in his kennel, awaiting transport off the premises.

Been a REALLY bad day here, and I'm taking Wednesday off from work to tend to the dog......