It's Time,

Time to get back in the game! I've been idle since Wednesday. After delivering the big dish to New Orleans, I took a quick call in Ponchatoula, just Northwest of the big lake in Louisiana. Wednesday evening I took a shower at a truck stop, an experience I won't share (but better than a jail house shower). Then Thursday, with nothing to do, I found a beautiful park with very old oak trees to shade me while I put the "garage organizer" in my truck. I now have shelves and baskets for EVERYTHING! It's a beautiful thing.

Thursday night, I decided (with a little help) that I was too close to Rita's path, and I scurried back to Stennis Space Center, where my 5 meter dish is providing with a 30Mbps connection while there Internet service (provided by MCI through New Orleans) is broken / flooded. 

Anyhow, tomorrow, Sunday, I have orders to get back in the game... I'm going to Baton Rouge, to meet a boat and some equipment, and take a leisure journey to Venice, Louisiana (12 hours). Well, if you didn't look that up on the map... It's the southern tip of da' bayou, only north of a place called "Bog Pond". I don't think I wanna go to Bog Pond! So here I go, on a boat to meet a Marine Dredge. What's that? They tell me it's a 300 foot ship that digs it's own river, sucking dirt from the ocean's floor, throwing the sludge 200 feet away or onto another smaller barge. Well, I'm going to meet this ship the Army calls "The McFarland" where I will install a dish capable of aiming at the satellite accurately, while floating in 30 foot seas... I can't wait to see this antenna! It's for the Army Corps of Engineers, which strikes me as ironic. It seems to me, all the really good techs I've ever met are Army trained satellite techs! Yet, the army calls me??????? Gotta luv it!!!! I'll tell more about that when I have more to tell...

But, the interesting things I have to talk about.... I have a urinal! I've always wanted a urinal in my bathroom! Now I have one.... actually, I put a tall funnel in the van. Well, let me start at the top. I bought two tall funnels; one is for spitting in when I brush my teeth. It funnels to the back of another funnel which is low enough I can pee in. Therefore, I have a urinal... the bottom is much too small for anything other than pee, and the top, way too small to sit on... drains to the right rear tire. So, I figure it's no worse than a dog peeing on my tire a couple times a day... I also have a bottle of water with a hole drilled in the top, which is a perfect squirt bottle for "flushing". Laurie ordered a shower on line for me, so I'll be fully "RVed" in a few days.

I can't figure out the trucks battery situation. I killed it twice today, and I feel I ran the radio twice as long yesterday, without killing anything. The 100 mile journey here should have recharged the batteries... I want a solar panel that will maintain the battery or even run an air conditioner. Last night I opened a door at 4 am because it got hot in here. That was a first, and at 4 am? I guess the bands of Rita had very hot air. From 4 until 9 am (remember I am an hour ahead, when I say 9 it is still 8 to everyone near me because I refuse to adjust to central time) I was frequently awakened by the door slamming against the spool of cable I propped it open with. I used a bungee cord to hold the door almost closed, and every hour or so we'd get a gust hard enough to stretch the bungee and then quit, letting the door slam hard on the spool.

It was nice to see the Sea Bees come back today. They bugged out yesterday.... I guess they didn't want to be in those tents when Tropical Force winds came here! Although it is nice to have some company, it makes me wonder why they are here. So far, they have spent over a week here and done nothing but set up camp. Some guys are playing football, others just sit there staring into space. They are all wearing full camo including hard hats, long sleeves and pants, that must be hot... and why the heavy uniforms? There are no combatants to engage here, and the camo makes them all stand out. Everything else that is green around here is horizontal, like fallen trees.

... to be continued, goodnight.

I awoke to a surprise today. My dish here at NOAA lost signal in the night. The problem was in Atlanta, but nobody noticed until I called them to say "what'd you do?". So this is the second time I fixed it in minutes not hours or days.... I just happed to be here avoiding Rita. And then... a company that is competition to GEO Wireless called them for help. It seems they are nearby and can't get their satellite system to run. They humbled themselves to call GEO Wireless because they can't find anyone else... so now I am going to go do a BIG favor for the competition, at the request of GEO, and hopefully heal a bitter relationship between the two of them. It looks like the GEO guys are ready to roll, so I'll stop rambling here.

A little fun in the Big Easy,

Bill Gerker