Monday, December 31
Kentucky
Had a great time down in Kentucky. Made some progress on the barn, hung out with Ford/Amanda and her family, learned about a new animal (a wompus cat), met a friend in person for the first time after talking to her for 6 months or so on the phone, ate lots of good food, saw pretty country, etc. A few pictures to come shortly, mostly of the barn.
Wednesday, December 5
Monday, December 3
Some photos...
So I've heard complaints I haven't put anything on here in a while. True enough. So here's some pictures, mostly from the fall, a few from the summer. Hopefully they're not repeats...
Rachel and I on Katahdin.
Moon over Seawall (Morse Mountain) Beach
Some weirdo on a beach.
View north from a gravel road somewhere near Montpelier. It's all snowy now...
Same spot, looking west.
Trails in my back yard.
Bike taking a break in my backyard.
Me in Maidstone Cave, VT. Before getting filthy and soaked.
Entrance to Maidstone Cave.
Me on Burnt Island at sunset.
Total sumo domination. Me on the left.
Maria, me, Steve on Katahdin.
Meredith at Carter Notch.
Meredith and I on the way back down from Carter Notch.
Oh yeah, and I also thought of some relatively inexpensive Christmas ideas is anyone is struggling for ideas for me...
-socks (e.g. smartwool, wigwam, darn tough, etc...)
-PJ's
-gaiters
-Edit: I remembered the other things...
-Thermos
-slippers or some bootie sort of things
-studded cyclocross tires (700x35c or so...)
-rear rack for a bike
And speaking of that, what do you all want?
Rachel and I on Katahdin.
Moon over Seawall (Morse Mountain) Beach
Some weirdo on a beach.
View north from a gravel road somewhere near Montpelier. It's all snowy now...
Same spot, looking west.
Trails in my back yard.
Bike taking a break in my backyard.
Me in Maidstone Cave, VT. Before getting filthy and soaked.
Entrance to Maidstone Cave.
Me on Burnt Island at sunset.
Total sumo domination. Me on the left.
Maria, me, Steve on Katahdin.
Meredith at Carter Notch.
Meredith and I on the way back down from Carter Notch.
Oh yeah, and I also thought of some relatively inexpensive Christmas ideas is anyone is struggling for ideas for me...
-socks (e.g. smartwool, wigwam, darn tough, etc...)
-PJ's
-gaiters
-Edit: I remembered the other things...
-Thermos
-slippers or some bootie sort of things
-studded cyclocross tires (700x35c or so...)
-rear rack for a bike
And speaking of that, what do you all want?
Friday, October 26
The Job.
Here's an illustrated guide to my new job.
The purpose of what I'm doing is to try and find locations of groundwater contamination from an industrial spill of some sort. Stone (my company) is subcontracted to collect the water samples from various depths: 50-500 feet down or so, in 10 foot intervals. In order to do that, we have to drive our probe into the ground. But we can only drive it so deep before we risk breaking something. The probe looks like this:
So a drilling company drills to a certain depth with hollow rods. We put our probe down through the insides of their rods, hammer it as far as we need to using a GeoProbe, and take a sample. As we're driving it down, it collects data as we go, which looks like this:
Once we get to a set depth (those 10' intervals) or a place where there's enough water flow to sample, we go into sample mode. At this point, the drillers get to take a break for a few hours while we work the magic "box". Basically, via stainless steel tubes, the water/gas/sample is collected from depth, and is run through the "box". See below:
Drill rig. Stainless steel tubes leading from rods to the "box".
The "box". Lots of tubing and valves and such... Whee!
A closer look at the various controls...
Basically, gas (nitrogen) is sent down the rods to the probe. Via some simple valves and things, the water in the probe is pressurized and sent back up the rods. Once it gets to the surface, we collect the water that has come up the hole. All this is done by turning those various knobs...
Once we begin to get a sample, the data shows up on a computer (via a HydroLab sonde). See below for that:
Once things have stabilized (e.g. all the drilling mud is out of the sample water), we record it on the computer, and also in a log, below:
After that, we collect the sample, give it to a guy, and repeat the process, every 10 feet or so down the hole. Collecting the sample can take as long as 2 hours if the flow is bad, so it takes quite a while to do an entire hole. When I started, we were finishing up a 510' deep one. This past shift, we started and completed a 380' hole, and moved to a new one (in the pictures) that will also be to 380'. So far, we're down to 120'. So I guess it takes a bit less than a shift (10 days) to do a hole. The site we're at now is sandwiched between a railroad and a garbage truck depot. Really nice pleasant place. Lovely...
Here's some other shots of the work site.
View looking out of the truck.
The Stone truck and a water truck (for drilling mud). Note the bundles of coiled stainless steel tubing...
View from the front.
The purpose of what I'm doing is to try and find locations of groundwater contamination from an industrial spill of some sort. Stone (my company) is subcontracted to collect the water samples from various depths: 50-500 feet down or so, in 10 foot intervals. In order to do that, we have to drive our probe into the ground. But we can only drive it so deep before we risk breaking something. The probe looks like this:
So a drilling company drills to a certain depth with hollow rods. We put our probe down through the insides of their rods, hammer it as far as we need to using a GeoProbe, and take a sample. As we're driving it down, it collects data as we go, which looks like this:
Once we get to a set depth (those 10' intervals) or a place where there's enough water flow to sample, we go into sample mode. At this point, the drillers get to take a break for a few hours while we work the magic "box". Basically, via stainless steel tubes, the water/gas/sample is collected from depth, and is run through the "box". See below:
Drill rig. Stainless steel tubes leading from rods to the "box".
The "box". Lots of tubing and valves and such... Whee!
A closer look at the various controls...
Basically, gas (nitrogen) is sent down the rods to the probe. Via some simple valves and things, the water in the probe is pressurized and sent back up the rods. Once it gets to the surface, we collect the water that has come up the hole. All this is done by turning those various knobs...
Once we begin to get a sample, the data shows up on a computer (via a HydroLab sonde). See below for that:
Once things have stabilized (e.g. all the drilling mud is out of the sample water), we record it on the computer, and also in a log, below:
After that, we collect the sample, give it to a guy, and repeat the process, every 10 feet or so down the hole. Collecting the sample can take as long as 2 hours if the flow is bad, so it takes quite a while to do an entire hole. When I started, we were finishing up a 510' deep one. This past shift, we started and completed a 380' hole, and moved to a new one (in the pictures) that will also be to 380'. So far, we're down to 120'. So I guess it takes a bit less than a shift (10 days) to do a hole. The site we're at now is sandwiched between a railroad and a garbage truck depot. Really nice pleasant place. Lovely...
Here's some other shots of the work site.
View looking out of the truck.
The Stone truck and a water truck (for drilling mud). Note the bundles of coiled stainless steel tubing...
View from the front.
Tuesday, September 11
Summertime, and the living is...
Not easy.
All sorts of things have happened since I last wrote anything on here. Some good, some bad, some happy, some sad. I'll see if I can summarize it chronogically...
On June 30th, I was not staying at my usual place for the weekend, because the people I'm living with were having company over. I got a call at work from her, saying she'd had Zephyr outside, but she wasn't coming back when she called. I drove home and ran all over the place yelling for her. Eventually asked the people at the hotel across the road if they'd seen her. They had. She'd been hit by a car and didn't make it. So the sweetest dog I've known is no more.
Felt pretty bad for a while after that, but work got busy, so I didn't have much time to dwell on it. Spent a lot of my spare time going paddling. In the process, rekindled my enthusiasm for kayaking. Did some camping, a lot of paddling at night, going out in the fog, etc...
Somewhere in there I had a few job interviews. Wound up getting a job in Montpelier Vermont, doing geology stuff. It's probably not going to be the most exciting work, but it's geology related, pays well, and will keep me occupied for a few years until I figure out what I really want to do with myself. That'll be starting on October 1st. Trying to find a place to live in the meantime. The kayak shop is still open, so I'm working here a bit still.
Had some trouble with feeling lonely earlier this summer, and I never do very well with that. A month or so ago, I met a girl and got quickly attached to her, despite it being a complicated situation. Turns out it was too complicated. To make it a short story, after a month or so of being extremely happy, I'm back to being lonely. Seems like the way of the world sometimes. I guess all I can do is keep trying.
Seems sometimes that I write these things more to get my thoughts out of my head than things I really want to share, but whatever. Sorry I've been so out of touch this summer, it's been busy.
Here's a picture or two...
The Cuckholds Light from Cape Newagen.
Maria and I paddling at sunset.
All sorts of things have happened since I last wrote anything on here. Some good, some bad, some happy, some sad. I'll see if I can summarize it chronogically...
On June 30th, I was not staying at my usual place for the weekend, because the people I'm living with were having company over. I got a call at work from her, saying she'd had Zephyr outside, but she wasn't coming back when she called. I drove home and ran all over the place yelling for her. Eventually asked the people at the hotel across the road if they'd seen her. They had. She'd been hit by a car and didn't make it. So the sweetest dog I've known is no more.
Felt pretty bad for a while after that, but work got busy, so I didn't have much time to dwell on it. Spent a lot of my spare time going paddling. In the process, rekindled my enthusiasm for kayaking. Did some camping, a lot of paddling at night, going out in the fog, etc...
Somewhere in there I had a few job interviews. Wound up getting a job in Montpelier Vermont, doing geology stuff. It's probably not going to be the most exciting work, but it's geology related, pays well, and will keep me occupied for a few years until I figure out what I really want to do with myself. That'll be starting on October 1st. Trying to find a place to live in the meantime. The kayak shop is still open, so I'm working here a bit still.
Had some trouble with feeling lonely earlier this summer, and I never do very well with that. A month or so ago, I met a girl and got quickly attached to her, despite it being a complicated situation. Turns out it was too complicated. To make it a short story, after a month or so of being extremely happy, I'm back to being lonely. Seems like the way of the world sometimes. I guess all I can do is keep trying.
Seems sometimes that I write these things more to get my thoughts out of my head than things I really want to share, but whatever. Sorry I've been so out of touch this summer, it's been busy.
Here's a picture or two...
The Cuckholds Light from Cape Newagen.
Wednesday, June 20
Some more kayaking photos...
From a recent camping trip to Spectacle Island. I'll let the photos speak for themselves...
Monday, June 11
Things...
I realize it's been a bit since I put anything on here... sorry 'bout that. Don't have a very reliable internet connection. So what's new? Took Zephyr to the vet today, partly to update her vaccinations, and partly because she had what looked like the classic lyme-disease bullseyes on her belly. Turned out to be black fly bites. That was a relief. Went hiking a few days ago with my old buddy Rachel, to a couple land trust places. Zephyr and her dog had a great time, and it was nice to catch up with her as usual. However, hiking along in sandals on a new stretch of trail, I kicked a small stump, and ripped off my ENTIRE big toe nail. Just hanging on by a corner. Had to pull the sucker the rest of the way off. Ouch. It's nasty and hurts a bit.
What else... the bike/kayak shop is going pretty slow so far, but racking up the hours. Haven't been paid yet, but hopefully soon, because my credit card bill is going to be a big one. All that gas (~$250), the wheel bearing replacement ($300), Zephyr's vet bill ($150) and lots of other little things is really gonna hurt. I'll manage though.
Things are going fine where I'm staying. They're wonderful, friendly people and I enjoy them a lot. I'm not around too much, but it's fun when we are there at the same time. And they love Zephyr too, so that's a bonus. Working out well.
Not much luck with the "real" job search I'm afraid. Applying to all sorts of things all over the country, but still haven't heard much back from any of them. Still trying, something has to turn up eventually though, right?
Anywho, been doing some paddling in the evenings, and have had some great times. Here's a couple pictures from that, and a picture from my one failed attempt at riding so far...
Some of the people I work with, from L to R. Travis (owner and guide), Cathy (newbie, eventually a guide), Teresa and Mike Lewis (friends of Travis and owners of Carousel Theater), Steve (guide). We were watching the relaunch of the H.M.S. Bounty replica, which was also "The Black Pearl" in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.
The good ol' Sherman Zwicker at sunset.
From Burnt Island (with the lighthouse) looking towards the Gut. This was a short time exposure, it was about 9 pm and almost dark.
Me on Burnt Island, a little later. Paddled home around 9:30, it was gorgeous.
The Southport Bridge on another evening. Nice and glassy...
The west end of the Gut, looking into the Sheepscot River. Pretty calm eh?
3 days of rain + lots of 4-wheelers = mud bog. This looked like a good line through it all, but apparently not. This was after my chain broke and the bugs ate me alive fixing it...
What else... the bike/kayak shop is going pretty slow so far, but racking up the hours. Haven't been paid yet, but hopefully soon, because my credit card bill is going to be a big one. All that gas (~$250), the wheel bearing replacement ($300), Zephyr's vet bill ($150) and lots of other little things is really gonna hurt. I'll manage though.
Things are going fine where I'm staying. They're wonderful, friendly people and I enjoy them a lot. I'm not around too much, but it's fun when we are there at the same time. And they love Zephyr too, so that's a bonus. Working out well.
Not much luck with the "real" job search I'm afraid. Applying to all sorts of things all over the country, but still haven't heard much back from any of them. Still trying, something has to turn up eventually though, right?
Anywho, been doing some paddling in the evenings, and have had some great times. Here's a couple pictures from that, and a picture from my one failed attempt at riding so far...
Some of the people I work with, from L to R. Travis (owner and guide), Cathy (newbie, eventually a guide), Teresa and Mike Lewis (friends of Travis and owners of Carousel Theater), Steve (guide). We were watching the relaunch of the H.M.S. Bounty replica, which was also "The Black Pearl" in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.
The good ol' Sherman Zwicker at sunset.
From Burnt Island (with the lighthouse) looking towards the Gut. This was a short time exposure, it was about 9 pm and almost dark.
Me on Burnt Island, a little later. Paddled home around 9:30, it was gorgeous.
The Southport Bridge on another evening. Nice and glassy...
The west end of the Gut, looking into the Sheepscot River. Pretty calm eh?
3 days of rain + lots of 4-wheelers = mud bog. This looked like a good line through it all, but apparently not. This was after my chain broke and the bugs ate me alive fixing it...
Tuesday, May 22
Last Days in Starkville, Fun in Kentucky, and a Loooooong Drive...
Warning: Contains some wimpy sentimental stuff at the end.
By now, you've probably gotten the email I sent out... But here's a summary. Drove up to Kentucky (9 hours) on Friday. Got up there pretty late. That driving wasn't too exciting. Probably the most scenic part (Kentucky) was done in the dark. Oh well. The next day, we (Ford, Amanda, Zephyr and I) went down to London to do some work on their land. Ford has a friend at a horse farm that had some left over fencing supplies like gates, posts, boards, etc. So we picked up some of that. To make a long story short, dug a bunch of holes, put up some posts, tried to put up some boards, but had a problem. The board we'd used to figure the spacing was the longest one in the pile by about a foot! So instead of each board spanning three posts, they'll have to cut them down to go post to post. Oh well... Got two gates put up as well. Amanda painted them with this black creosote stuff which looks awesome, but sure was messy. Lots of good teamwork.
The next day, I'd planned on driving all the way to Massachusetts and staying with Kristen. Well, her plans changed a bit, and she was having an appointment at BIW (Bath Iron Works in Maine) so she wouldn't be there. So, I was going to take it easy and drive halfway to Maine or something. Don't know what happened, but I got motivated and drove the whole way. 19 hours straight. It would have been a bit shorter, but I got stuck in Pennsylvania covering 6 miles in an hour and a half. Anywho, I had enough No-Doze and Redbull (yuck) that I was still shaking the next day. Rolled in to Oakland, where Kristen's mom's house is, at 3:30 am.
Yesterday, after about 2 hours of sleep, I got up, went down to Belgrade to Kristen's dad's house, and did some work on her bike. She wanted to put drop bars on her hybrid, so I set up the shifters and wrapped the bars and all that. Seems like it'll be a bit stretched out, but we'll see how she likes it. I still owe her a real road bike. After that, got to see her briefly in Brunswick before she headed back to Worcester to talk to her advisor about the new plan. She's looking and doing great. It was extremely nice to see her after her rather abrupt departure last December. Her and Zephyr got reacquainted as well. Good times.
Then, drove on down to Boothbay to check things out. Turns out, and I should have known, that Travis (my boss) doesn't really have a place for me to live. So I've got to figure something out for that. Argh. So that's a bit frustrating. Fortunately, Kristen's mom is letting me stay here for a bit until I figure something out. I have to get the car worked on too, so I'm kind of stuck here for a bit, though I'm supposed to work this weekend. It'll get sorted out I guess.
In any case, it's sure nice to be in Maine. I do miss Mississippi, but oddly feel a bit more at home here. I guess it's partly the memories of everything that's happened. I've still got some work to do on realizing that memories are memories, and don't really come back or go back to the way they used to be or whatever. I guess the only thing that'll fix that is time. And maybe more heart ache...
I realized something as I was sitting in the car driving along (no radio to distract me). I don't feel like I've really accomplished anything. I did great in highschool, I hiked the AT, I did well in college, I just finished grad school... so what? Doesn't seem like anything. I almost feel like a failure. I kind of think it's because the things that have meant the most to me haven't worked out as I'd liked them to. And of course I'm talking about the girls in my life. I remember way back with Kara, she never liked the pressure I put on her because I relied on her for so much of my happiness. Maybe that's what I do wrong. Does that make me "co-dependent"? I don't know... I guess I'll have to learn or end up a lonely old hermit.
I should have just posted the pictures with a few captions like I originally planned instead of all this junk...
On to the pictures (a bit out of order):
Good ol' "Cow-Dog". This guy lived across the street on a farm, hence the name. He's a very sweet dog, despite the fact his owners seem to neglect him. Turns out (found out about 2 weeks before I left) that his real name is "Bob".
Zephyr and Cow-Dog licking noses.
Another shot of that tree from Southfarm. From my last time out there... I'm going to miss it.
Baby horse fly. The little f**kers bite as hard as the big ones.
Actually had some weather, made for a nice sunset.
Zephyr chasing a couple Canadian geese.
The car parked in front of the apartment. Sure was a lot nicer than the one we lived in our first year here. Guess I never took pictures of that old one. Huh...
The following are some of Zephyr's various sleeping poses in the car... This one is particularly amusing I think.
Ah, Mississippi, land of flatness...
At the first gate we put up on the new road to the property. Amanda's already got that creosote stuff all over her...
The 4 of use in the same spot.
This is a phenomenal roadcut! Check out that syncline! Not a bad photo for driving along at 65 in 4th gear while cars are trying to pass me on both sides either, I think. Somewhere in Maryland.
I stared at the back of this Hyundai for over an hour. Ugh.
Kristen's bike after the conversion. Her dad also got her a Brooks saddle, which she seems to think is awesome. Always wanted to try one of those. Maybe now I will...
I should also mention how wonderful and nice Kristen's family has been to me. They're willing to let me stay here until I find a place. Her dad and I took a walk last night and discussed things as well. I never got to know him too well, partly because there always seemed to be a bit of friction between Kristen and him, but we had a good talk and it helped to get me thinking about what comes next...
By now, you've probably gotten the email I sent out... But here's a summary. Drove up to Kentucky (9 hours) on Friday. Got up there pretty late. That driving wasn't too exciting. Probably the most scenic part (Kentucky) was done in the dark. Oh well. The next day, we (Ford, Amanda, Zephyr and I) went down to London to do some work on their land. Ford has a friend at a horse farm that had some left over fencing supplies like gates, posts, boards, etc. So we picked up some of that. To make a long story short, dug a bunch of holes, put up some posts, tried to put up some boards, but had a problem. The board we'd used to figure the spacing was the longest one in the pile by about a foot! So instead of each board spanning three posts, they'll have to cut them down to go post to post. Oh well... Got two gates put up as well. Amanda painted them with this black creosote stuff which looks awesome, but sure was messy. Lots of good teamwork.
The next day, I'd planned on driving all the way to Massachusetts and staying with Kristen. Well, her plans changed a bit, and she was having an appointment at BIW (Bath Iron Works in Maine) so she wouldn't be there. So, I was going to take it easy and drive halfway to Maine or something. Don't know what happened, but I got motivated and drove the whole way. 19 hours straight. It would have been a bit shorter, but I got stuck in Pennsylvania covering 6 miles in an hour and a half. Anywho, I had enough No-Doze and Redbull (yuck) that I was still shaking the next day. Rolled in to Oakland, where Kristen's mom's house is, at 3:30 am.
Yesterday, after about 2 hours of sleep, I got up, went down to Belgrade to Kristen's dad's house, and did some work on her bike. She wanted to put drop bars on her hybrid, so I set up the shifters and wrapped the bars and all that. Seems like it'll be a bit stretched out, but we'll see how she likes it. I still owe her a real road bike. After that, got to see her briefly in Brunswick before she headed back to Worcester to talk to her advisor about the new plan. She's looking and doing great. It was extremely nice to see her after her rather abrupt departure last December. Her and Zephyr got reacquainted as well. Good times.
Then, drove on down to Boothbay to check things out. Turns out, and I should have known, that Travis (my boss) doesn't really have a place for me to live. So I've got to figure something out for that. Argh. So that's a bit frustrating. Fortunately, Kristen's mom is letting me stay here for a bit until I figure something out. I have to get the car worked on too, so I'm kind of stuck here for a bit, though I'm supposed to work this weekend. It'll get sorted out I guess.
In any case, it's sure nice to be in Maine. I do miss Mississippi, but oddly feel a bit more at home here. I guess it's partly the memories of everything that's happened. I've still got some work to do on realizing that memories are memories, and don't really come back or go back to the way they used to be or whatever. I guess the only thing that'll fix that is time. And maybe more heart ache...
I realized something as I was sitting in the car driving along (no radio to distract me). I don't feel like I've really accomplished anything. I did great in highschool, I hiked the AT, I did well in college, I just finished grad school... so what? Doesn't seem like anything. I almost feel like a failure. I kind of think it's because the things that have meant the most to me haven't worked out as I'd liked them to. And of course I'm talking about the girls in my life. I remember way back with Kara, she never liked the pressure I put on her because I relied on her for so much of my happiness. Maybe that's what I do wrong. Does that make me "co-dependent"? I don't know... I guess I'll have to learn or end up a lonely old hermit.
I should have just posted the pictures with a few captions like I originally planned instead of all this junk...
On to the pictures (a bit out of order):
Good ol' "Cow-Dog". This guy lived across the street on a farm, hence the name. He's a very sweet dog, despite the fact his owners seem to neglect him. Turns out (found out about 2 weeks before I left) that his real name is "Bob".
Zephyr and Cow-Dog licking noses.
Another shot of that tree from Southfarm. From my last time out there... I'm going to miss it.
Baby horse fly. The little f**kers bite as hard as the big ones.
Actually had some weather, made for a nice sunset.
Zephyr chasing a couple Canadian geese.
The car parked in front of the apartment. Sure was a lot nicer than the one we lived in our first year here. Guess I never took pictures of that old one. Huh...
The following are some of Zephyr's various sleeping poses in the car... This one is particularly amusing I think.
Ah, Mississippi, land of flatness...
At the first gate we put up on the new road to the property. Amanda's already got that creosote stuff all over her...
The 4 of use in the same spot.
This is a phenomenal roadcut! Check out that syncline! Not a bad photo for driving along at 65 in 4th gear while cars are trying to pass me on both sides either, I think. Somewhere in Maryland.
I stared at the back of this Hyundai for over an hour. Ugh.
Kristen's bike after the conversion. Her dad also got her a Brooks saddle, which she seems to think is awesome. Always wanted to try one of those. Maybe now I will...
I should also mention how wonderful and nice Kristen's family has been to me. They're willing to let me stay here until I find a place. Her dad and I took a walk last night and discussed things as well. I never got to know him too well, partly because there always seemed to be a bit of friction between Kristen and him, but we had a good talk and it helped to get me thinking about what comes next...
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