Blue Monday

Total bummer today.  I came in this morning to find that my mighty Mac wouldn't start.  The power adapter was disconnected over the weekend, and it went into a deep sleep, a very deep sleep.  The sleep that nobody wakes up from.  The DVD drive spins, fans come on, power light comes on....and that's it.  Zilch, nada, zippo, nothing - no happy chime, no "spinning beachball of death", not even a frowny Mac symbol.  After futzing with it for the better part of the morning, I fired up the netbook and I've been limping along today.  I'm headed for Oregon this weekend, so I have to figure out what to do.  I think an order to the Apple website is on my list.

Catching Up (again)

Well, in spite of my promises to the contrary, I'm way behind again.  I won't bore you with the specifics, here's the highlights:

- Mockups of the ship are done through phase I (boundaries and most outfitting)
- We are approaching the end of the initial design review and verification.  The weekly meetings are over, but we still have a lot of stuff to do.
- Shipyard has placed orders for the steel, which should be arriving in a week or two

- I was in Oregon for 2 weeks around the 4th of July, and am heading back there on Saturday, 8/14, for a week.

- We had our second Quarterly Management Review with the shipyard, and our first Annual Construction Review by a panel of experts from the National Science Foundation.
- Fabrication will begin on Oct. 26, when the shipyard starts cutting steel.  That will go on for a month or two before they actually start building recognizable parts of the ship.

Mockups as they looked a few weeks ago. 

(Most of the material in the foreground is now in the background )

BUT, the biggest event was just this past weekend.  It was Waterfront Festival!  That's right, Waterfront Festival.  It started on Thursday, and ended on Sunday.  I am told that the fireworks were fantastic.  Just as I was going to leave to head over there, the skies opened up, lighting and thunder, the works.  I passed.  I did make it over on Sunday for the parade and some music, and here's some pictures.

"Iiiiiii Love a Parade.."

Nice vintage car from Angeli's Grocery Store

VFW Marching Band

Hey!  It's the Car Plunk Van!

It was a beautiful afternoon

Everybody loves the food at Waterfront!

Catching Up

Time to get caught up.  It's been waaaaay too long since I updated the blog.

March (yikes, that was a while ago):  At the end of March, I went to a meeting at Stennis Space Center, Mississippi, near Waveland.  This area was Ground Zero for Katrina, and the evidence of the hurricanes was all around.  I didn't have the heart to take pictures of the devastation.  Suffice to say that there is a long way to go before that region recovers.  Still lots of blown out storefronts and neighborhoods of empty slabs.  Very sad.  The people are wonderful, though, and are taking it all in stride - if you can take something like that in stride.

Production floor at Marine Technologies - I had a factory visit while I was in Mississippi.

My next trip was just a week or so later.  In early April, I went to Puntarenas, Costa Rica for an inspection of the Research Vessel MELVILLE.  This is a gig I have with the Office of Naval Research.  I go along with a Navy INSURV Inspection team, and do assessments of the scientific outfit of the ship, science operations, and deck equipment.  I do one or two of these a  year.  This is definitely the most exotic location I've been to for a ship inspection.

R/V MELVILLE at anchor in Caldera Harbor, Cost Rica

The Navy inspection team picked the hotel, and it was a hum dinger.  The Doubletree Resort in Puntarenas.  It's a big place, and all-inclusive.  They put a bracelet on you when you check in, and that's all you need to get meals, drinks, whatever you want.  Just show up and order.  It's all taken care of!  It was great.  The downside is that you don't really get to interact with the locals very much.  I did get to have lunch with a local family on my last day in Puntarenas.  The ship's agent, Vasile (pirate or saint, depending on who you talk to) arranged for 2 of us to eat with the family of the ship chandler that he deals with.  It was a totally local lunch, fish, rice, savice, the works.  Wonderful meal, and wonderful people.

Sunset over Puntarenas from the beach at the hotel.

My "Costa Rica Workstation" in the main bar at the hotel.

A week or so after I got back from CR, I went on a drive up the Menominee River, scouting for fishing spots.  It was really pretty in the early spring, and has gotten even nicer since.  This picture was take about 20 miles upriver from Marinette.

Up the Menominee above Marinette

At the beginning of May, I went back to Oregon for a brief (1 week) visit.  Not much time to do anything really fun, but Julie and I played hooky from work one day and went to the coast.  I visited my homies on the WECOMA, and we walked on our favorite agate picking beach.  It was great to be home, even for a short visit.

Gleneden Beach, Oregon, north of Newport, on a wonderful spring afternoon

That's the brief outline of what I've been up to for the last couple of months.  I still can't believe that it's been that long, but...  I'm determined to do better with the updates, and with the picture-taking.

Spring has come and gone, and summer is here in Marinette.  I have my fishing license, brought my waders from home, and I've been out a couple of times.  I'm still trying to figure out the local scene, including the fish (besides trout) that are available.  I've met a lot of nice folks who have offered some tips.  Not many fly fishers out here, so I always make a point of talking to the ones I do come across.  So far, I've caught a few bluegill.  Heck, even panfish can be fun on light tackle.  More on that in a future post.

Again, sorry for the long delay.

Car.........Plunked!

Remnant of the Car Plunk

Sometime Friday night or Saturday morning, the VW van finally fell through the ice at the Menominee Marina.  I heard that some guy had three tickets for Saturday, so he probably won.  In the picture, that hole in the ice with the faint green glow is the van underwater.  According to reports on the radio, the organizers were very pleased with the success of the fundraiser, and are already planning for next year.  Maybe I'll buy a ticket and make a guess.

First Street in Menominee, MI, looking east

It was a beautiful afternoon in Menominee/Marinette.  On my way to the grocery store, I stopped at the Marina to check out the plunked car, and I took a walk along the waterfront.  The streets and park were pretty deserted.  I think most people were home watching Wisconsin play Cornell, and Michigan State play Maryland in the NCAA tournament.  March Madness indeed.  The wind off the lake was a little cool, but the sunshine was most welcome.  Great day on the Great Lakes.

Menominee/Marinette Marina (say that 10 times real fast)

Most of the ice is off the lake, except along the shoreline, and in sheltered areas (like where the Car Plunk was).  Most of the marina is ice-free, including the channel, but no boats yet.  The Dam across the Menominee River above downtown Marinette was opened this week, which has swept most of the ice out of the river.  Fishing activity is picking up, since there are some early runs of fish into the river.  I don't have all the details yet, but I'm getting the itch to get out and do some fishing.  I got the gear out the other night, checked everything out, and figured out what I'm missing for fishing up here.  I have most of what I need, but I'll have to tie some different flies.  Hope to get out as soon as I figure out the seasons, and can get a license.

Underground Parking...at last!

My new parking place

Whoo Hoo!  I have a spot in the parking garage!  I am sooo happy to have parking out of the weather at long last.  I've been on the waiting list since I signed the lease in December.  The weather is improving, so snow is no longer a worry, but I'm still happy to have inside parking.  It's very secure (key access from outside, and key required in the elevator), and warm and dry.  I'm not expecting to move, so it will be real nice next winter.  The parking garage is in the basement of my building, so I can get there without going outside.  There's even enough room to store my bike down there when I get it moved to Marinette.  I'm a happy camper.

The weather today (Sunday) was beautiful.  Since Daylight Savings started last night, the afternoon lasted a little longer, too.  It was sunny and got up to around 50 today.  Really nice.  I didn't go for a drive, but took a walk around downtown, and passed a very pleasant hour in the bookstore.

I spent most of the day puttering around the apartment, and reading the big-city papers.  I usually pick up a Chicago Tribune and Detroit Free Press every Sunday.  It's good to get hold of a real newspaper.  I pick up the Eagle-Herald (the local paper) most days of the week.  It's not published on Sundays.  Yesterday's paper had an interesting tidbit in the Police Blotter.  Apparently, I missed some excitement.  On a date not specified, there was a loud party in an apartment just down the hall.  Citations for noise, underage drinking and interfering with a police officer.  That apartment will be for rent very soon.  The management has zero tolerance - a citation from the cops is usually followed by an eviction notice.

Return from Oregon to....

View from the office window

...well....Oregon, I guess.  As you can see from the view from my office window, it's foggy and rainy here too!

I was back in Corvallis for a couple of weeks, working in my OSU office.  (sorry for the long hiatus)  I returned to Marinette on Sunday night, and back to work at the shipyard office on Monday.  I really enjoyed my time at home, but I am also glad to be back at the shipyard.  It has been quite a busy week here, lots of issues needing attention.  We have all been very busy with design issues all over the project.  Work, eat, sleep, repeat. 

We finally have our Office Assistant hired.  Jenny Sevon starts with us in just over a week.  We are all looking forward to having some help in the organizational department, and Jenny is just the one to get us squared away.

I've been alone in the office today.  Gary and John have the day off ("Seward Day" in Alaska), so I've been holding down the fort.  Fortunately, nothing much has happened, so I have had the chance to finish up an assignment from Monday's Team Teleconference, get my new monitor set up (25 inches of LCD goodness!), and work on a presentation I'm giving next week at UW-Marinette.

Big surprise today:  I got a package from Julie at the shipyard office.  It's a brand new crock pot!  She's been threatening to send me one, so I can let stuff cook during the day when I'm at work.  Well, it arrived today, and I'm looking forward to trying it out.

This week's big news is that I now have a spot in the parking garage at my apartment.  I was soooo stoked!  More on that later.

Saturday Drive to Escanaba

Menekaunee Lighthouse at the mouth of the Menominee River

OK, I'm getting caught up.  I'm back working in Corvallis for a couple of weeks.  Last weekend, I took a drive up the lakeshore to Escanaba, MI.  Here's some pictures of a midwinter drive in the UP.

The "Milk Can Cow" on First St., Menominee

This brilliant sculpture is in front of a house on First Street in Menominee.  I get a real kick out of it.  It looks like it's made entirely of milk cans and containers.  The glasses are a nice touch.

Hwy 35 at Cedar River, MI

Cedar River is about 30 miles up the lake front from Menominee.  It's a wide spot in the road.  This section of the highway is dotted with lakefront vacation homes with names like "Surf House," "Jamaica Beach," and "The Palms."  I'm guessing it's a lot nicer in the summer ;)

Entering Escanaba, MI, that's the UMC on the left.

Escanaba is about 55 miles up the lake.  It's at the junction of US-41 (the main highway) and MI-35 (the lakefront road).

Main Drag Escanaba

The Casino in the middle of nowhere

After turning off 35, and hitting US-41 back toward Marinette and Menominee, you travel through some rural country, and then come across this casino.  It is literally in the middle of nowhere.  I'm guessing there's lots of traffic, since there are a couple of other motels close by.

Upper Peninsula Farm Country

I passed several farms in this stretch between Escanaba and Stephenson.  Not much to look at in the winter, but I think the spring and summer will be very nice.

Back to Menominee

This picture is coming back into Menominee from the North.  I had a great drive, and saw a lot of places I'd like to check out when the weather improves.  There are a lot of parks along the lake, but they're closed in the winter, and covered with snow.  I have to admit that the countryside is not very attractive in the winter, but I think that will improve as the season changes.

Happy Valentine's Day!

4 members of the Marinette High School Honor Choir serenade John for Valentine's Day

We had a nice surprise on Friday, February 12.  John, our Contract Manager, got a singing valentine.  It was delivered by four singers from the Marinette High School Honor Choir, including John's daughter, Courtney (that's her at the left).  John had to leave a meeting early to get his valentine, but you gotta keep your priorities straight, right?  John captured the whole performance of "Lollipop" on his iPhone, so Gary and I got to enjoy it too.  A great way to end the week.

Meetings, Meetings, Meetings .......

It's all about the meetings!

Here's a sample of the meeting schedule.  These are just the basics - there are usually a few more each week.

Normal meetings:
Monday - Regular Project Update Teleconference (usually <1 hr)
Wednesday - Design Verification and Transfer Web Meeting (2+ hours)
Thursday - Progress Meeting with Marinette Marine (< 1 hour)
Thursday - Progress Teleconference with Wartsila (Thruster Manufacturer) usually < 1 hr

This week we added two DV&T teleconferences on Friday, and a Master Schedule meeting on Friday.

Add in a number of teleconferences during the week (at least one per day), and you have a pretty busy week.  In addition, we have a bunch of "passageway conferences" in the office.

In spite of all the meetings, we are getting a lot of work done.  Typically, all of us are in the office by 7:30 (usually earlier), and leave between 4:30 and 5:30 depending on what's happening.  Not *all* of the time is spent drinking coffee and telling sea stories ;)  It's a happy crew.

Currently, we are at about 1/2 of our expected office staff.  On site are:

Gary: Shipyard Project Director (The Big Kahuna)

John: Shipyard Contract Manager (The Big Organizer)
Yours Truly: Marine Science Technical Director (The Big -click here-)
  - soon to be joined by -
TBA: Office Assistant
  - to be joined in the fall by -
TBA: Inspectors (2)

Signing Ceremony

Complete with cake and punch, Marinette Marine, UAF and the NSF signed (ceremonially) the contract for SIKULIAQ.  It was a great event, coordinated by MMC and UAF.  On site, Lori Nunemann (UAF) and Marc (pronounced "marse") Jamo did an outstanding job of putting the event together.  There were a number of dignitaries, including Congressmen from Wisconsin and Michigan, the Mayor and Vice-Mayor of Seward, Mayors of Marinette, Menominee and a few other towns around here.  The NSF contingent was sizeable, and there was also a representative from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.  All-in-all, a fine time was had by all.  The event made the paper on Saturday, and I heard a report about it on the radio several times over the weekend, and even Monday morning.

A Few Photos:

(l-r) Dr. Richard McCreary (CEO Marinette Marine), Mr. Brian Rogers (Chancellor, UAF) and Dr. Julie Morris (OCE Division Director, NSF) sign the contract to build SIKULIAQ

Team ARRV

The Cake (remarkable likeness)

Mmmmm, Cake!

The Work is Piling Up

January 15

February 5

As you can see from these two pictures, my workload has increased dramatically over the last three weeks. The amount of flat surface has increased along with the amount of paper I have to deal with.  I have gone from a desk and table with not much on them to desk and three tables, and they are all overflowing.

Today is our Ceremonial Contract Signing, and we have had a steady stream of visitors from all over - Washington DC, Seward, Fairbanks, and some people I have no idea.  They are over in the shipyard on tours, so it's quiet right now.  That's bound to change, though.  I passed on the tour.  I figure I'll have plenty of time to see it over the next three years.

Car.........Plunk!

This was on the front page of today's Eagle-Herald, and it's irresistible.  As a fundraiser, the YMCA and Boys and Girls Club are bringing back an old Menominee-Marinette tradition, the Car Plunk.  This VW van is parked on the ice in the middle of the marina in Menominee.  You can buy a ticket for the opportunity to guess the day, hour, minute and second (yes, down to the second) that it will drop through the ice as it melts.  Apparently, this was a tradition for many years, but was stopped about 20 years ago.  The Y and the B&G Club brought it back this year.  In the updated version, they got permits from the county and Army Corps of Engineers, removed the engine and transmission and anything else that might cause pollution, and put it out on the ice.  There is a webcam looking at the marina, you can access it via www.mmymca.org, follow the links to CARPLUNK.  What a riot.  I can't wait!  Small towns are a blast!

Tomorrow (Friday) is the big ceremonial contract signing at the shipyard.  Lots of special guests (Asst. Director of the National Science Foundation, Chancellor of the Univ. of Alaska, Chairman and CEO of Marinette Marine, a couple of Congressmen, etc.)  I'm supposed to wear a tie, and I *do* have to show up.  At least there's a party afterwards.

Morning Commute

Main Street Marinette

Here's a synopsis of my morning commute from the apartment to the shipyard.  Most mornings, I walk in.  It only takes about 20 minutes, including stops for coffee and a paper.  I draw the line at walking when the outside temperature gets much below 20 degrees.  It's just too cold.

Turn onto Main Street at Book World

This is a great little bookstore, and right across the street from my building.  I especially appreciate the fact that they carry flyfishing magazines!  A great place to kill a couple of hours.

Dew Hills Coffee Shop, and the nice lady that gets my coffee.

First stop: Dew Hills Coffee Shop.  The people are very friendly, and the nice lady always warms up my travel mug before I get my coffee.  $1.63 for a 20 oz. refill.  Awesome.

Knights of Columbus, and across the street the laudromat where I get a paper

Then, down the street past the Knights of Columbus (Bingo every Sunday night, 6:30!), and stop at the laundromat to get a paper.

Shipyard in sight.  The square-ish building in the center is the Tech Center.  Our project office is out of the picture to the right.

I continue down Main Street to Ely, the street leading to the Shipyard.  Turn left at the Presbyterian Church, and down the hill to the yard.  Tech Center to the right, Water Treatment Plant to the left.

Main Gate of Marinette Marine Shipyard.  

The main erection building where the ships are assembled is straight ahead.

At this point, I turn right, and head across the parking lots to our office modular.  At this point in the project, we really have no need to go into the construction yard, since we are in the design verification phase.  The ship only exists on paper right now, be we are getting closer to cutting steel every day.  If all goes well, we'll start construction in October.

Rainy Sunday

Sunday was a rainy day in Marinette.  Just like home!  It rained hard almost all day, and we're expecting freezing temperatures this week, so it could be a skating rink later in the week.  Cloudy this morning, and the rain has stopped.  Thank goodness the streets are dry this morning.  I went to church yesterday at Menominee First UMC.  The people were very friendly.  Bonus for me:  They have a church supper every Wednesday!  That's one night I don't have to fend for myself.  I'll report on that later in the week.

I had a late breakfast/brunch after church yesterday.  I was headed for Schloegel's, but it was packed.  Along the way, I stopped for a newspaper (of course I did), and found a shop with real papers!  Detroit Free Press and Chicago Tribune - honest-to-goodness newspapers!  I bought both of them, and spent a couple of happy hours at Perkins eating breakfast, drinking coffee and reading the paper.  They are still piled next to my chair at the apartment - they may last all week.  That's one of the things I miss - a real newspaper every morning.

Moving Day!

Kristin Was Here!!!

Monday was moving day, and boy was I glad that Kristin was here to help.  The truck arrived about 1PM, and we were all done moving stuff by 3.  The Apartment manager let us have the key to the garage, so we were able to roll the cart down into the basement, and take everything up the elevator.  Otherwise, we would have had to contend with the three steps up from the sidewalk level to the elevator level.  That really streamlined things.

At least the TV is set up (this is Monday, it looks better now)

Kristin took charge of the organization, and got the kitchen and bathroom really squared away - she even made the bed for me.  The rest is up to me, and I'm pecking away at it.  I took Kristin to Green Bay on Tuesday night, since she had an early flight on Wednesday.  I was sorry to see her go, but she has to get back for a job interview.

The startup period at the Project Office has been a whirlwind of meetings with the shipyard, as well as internal team meetings.  Wednesday was our startup conference, with all the various entities in attendance, from our team, the shipyard team, American Bureau of Shipping, National Science Foundation, and other consultants and technical personnel.  Seems like I'm always in a meeting.  Today (Friday) we got some relief from that, but I'm also involved in the recruitment for our Office Assistant, so that was on today's menu.  All in all, we are off to a really good start with the yard.  They set up a very nice dinner for our team and their team at the Lauerman House, a B&B here in Marinette.  It was a great evening.  We can't accept any gratuities from them, so we paid for our own dinners.

I've been walking to work most mornings.  It takes 20 minutes including a stop for coffee.  The weather has been fantastic this week, lots of sun and daytime temperatures in the mid-30s, which has made the walk very pleasant.  That's supposed to change (as in get colder) tonight.

I'm looking forward to the weekend, and doing more exploring.  I may even break down and buy a fishing license.

Kristin the Organizer does her thing

Saturday in Marinette

Fly fishing for steelhead and Brown Trout just west of my hotel

Our Shipyard Project Director, Gary Smith, called me this morning to tell me he'd met a couple of guys headed up the Menominee River to do some flyfishing  just west of where I'm staying.  Once I got going, I drove up there (about 1/2 mile), and, indeed, they were wading in the river and flyfishing.  I watched for about 15 minutes, and saw this guy get one good hit, and some possibles.  I really think I saw ice forming around his legs!  I have my rods, but the reels are in the container - bummer.  Gives me hope, though.  I guess I'll have to have Julie send out my neoprene insulated waders ;)

I headed out today to run some errands.  First, I went over to my apartment to offload some stuff from the car.  My apartment is on the second floor of a redeveloped downtown department store building.  There is retail and office space on the first floor, and apartments on the second and third floors.  Here are some pictures:

View as you walk in the front door

Electric fireplace at the far end, windows on both sides.

alcove (= music room) ahead, bedroom to the left

Looking back at the kitchen and front door
Bedroom to the right

View from the bedroom window, looking Southwest

Nice, tall windows, parking lot view

Next stop: Pine Tree Mall.  I picked up a tie to wear to church tomorrow.  I should have listened to Julie, she told me to bring one...  I also picked up some basic supplies for my office.  Our Project Admin Assistant from Fairbanks will be here next week to help set up the office, but in the meantime, I needs me some office supplies.

I had lunch at Schloegel's, a pretty nice restaurant in Menominee, right on the lake.

 Bay of Green Bay from Schloegel's parking Lot

thick ice in foreground, then thin ice, then open water.  

On a clear day you can see across to Door County.

After lunch, I headed around looking for a bed.  Ended up at Lauerman's, down by the Mall.  Bought the mattress, box spring and frame, to be delivered on Monday.  Ironically, the building I'm living in is the former Lauerman's store in downtown Marinette.

Tomorrow, I'm headed for church in the morning, then over to the apartment to wait for the cable guy.  Believe it or not, I was able to schedule my cable installation for a Sunday.  Once that's done, I'm off to Green Bay to pick up Kristin.  She gets in tomorrow afternoon.  It will be great to have her here, to see the place, and help me get moved in.  My moving container arrives on Monday.  Shouldn't take us too long to get it unloaded.  The biggest challenge will be finding a place for the driver to leave the trailer.