Five neat things about a submarine by Tony Green

Currently approximately 425,000 sailors serve in United States Navy. Of the only 7% are officially designated are submarine qualified. The submarine force is an all volunteer meaning a person must declare their desire to be stationed aboard a submarine. The submarine force tries to select the best and the brightest since the crews are on average smaller than other vessels its crew members are required to performed more functions than other sailors. For example on many surface boats a damage control party exists whose specific job is extinguishing any fires which may occur. The submarine crew has to put out its own fires which require some basic damage control knowledge so the crew is prepared for any emergency.

Due to its mission a good of deal of equipment is unique to submarines yet other gear common across the entire Navy is used. After four years aboard a submarine here are five neat things I recall which may not catch your attention initially.

Oxygen

The submarine creates its own supply of oxygen for the crew to breathe. The oxygen is produced by the hydrolysis of the seawater the submarine travels through. The water molecule, H₂0, is split up into its constituent molecules of oxygen and hydrogen. The oxygen goes into the ships oxygen banks to be bleed off as needed to maintain levels for breathing while the hydrogen created from the process is expelled overboard.

Water

The ships drinking water, potable is also produced by the same process. Seawater distilled by vaporizing the water drawn from the ocean using heat to produce fresh water. The principle is the boiling point of the pure water is lower than the ordinary seawater due to its higher content of salt. The desalinated water is collected then separated and stored for use. This is normally conducted under vacuum in order to reduce the heat required make the process more efficient. On our boat the distiller was typically referred to as the 10K evaporator. Clear water goes to the ships potable supply while the concentrated salt (brine) gets pumped back into the sea. If you wonder about the flavor of the drinking water I can vouch and say without hesitation the water is better than the water that comes out of your tap.

Comes equipped with a power plug

Whenever the submarine is in port is nuclear power reactor which provides power while the ship is underway is by and large shutdown. What keeps the lights on and the equipment functioning? The answer is the submarine in strange sense has a plug. This “plug” is much larger than the one that powers your refrigerator. The cable is referred as the shore power cable. This refers to the three large cables which are screwed into the places designated in the aft escape hatch that allows power for the base to provide electricity the submarine.

Battery and Diesel included

A battery is included as well as if there was not enough apparatus aboard the submarine. Even though rechargeable, this battery is not similar to the battery on your Toyota Prius hybrid but a robust lead acid battery which provides power only on the event of an emergency. A robust battery is needed while at sea as since the reactor/steam plant is your method of propulsion which keeps you afloat. A loss of the ability to move forward through the water can be life threatening if sustained for a long period of time. In addition a diesel generator to provide power in the event an additional mode of propulsion was needed. The generator is used in an emergency while the ship is on the surface of the ocean as a diesel needs air to produces the combustion which turns diesel fuel into electricity. I had the opportunity to visit a decommissioned diesel power sub from World War II and I could not help but smell the diesel even though this museum had not used its diesel generator for over 40 years. Can never miss the aroma of diesel……

No windows needed

Many tourists enjoy going on tour of submersible vessel which operates under the water in the same fashion a submarine does. Typically the captain takes the vessel down to a depth of 100 feet or so allowing the visitors to observe all of the colorful fish swimming about. This raises the question what the ocean looks like from a submerged submarine. Sorry to say at the depths which a submarine operates there is not much sunlight with the ability to penetrate to that depth so there would not be much to glimpse. Thus a submarine has no need for windows. Imagine being in a room with no windows for two months or so without a break. I and all submariners can as this is what you sign up for. For the record, I never said submariners were normal.

Many of the effects were designed to allow the submarine to complete its mission. The items I listed are a few of the interesting things I can mention about the operation of submarine. Imagine the things I signed piles of paperwork when I left the Navy not to mention……

Never to proud to accept help by Tony Green

Layoffs are never easy regardless of the state of the economy. It is difficult for seasoned professionals who are used to getting up and earning a good living on their own to admit they need a helping hand to get back on their feet. On the one hand you are not proud of the fact you are out of work. Yet on the other hand you never may identify who may be in a position to help you. You want to be open but you do not want to seem desperate.

Case in point, I was at the swimming lesson with my son and I started a conversation with one of the other parents whose son and daughter were completing their lessons. I discovered his wife worked at an employment placement agency. I had worked with the agency before in a previous position before but my recollection of them was they did not work with positions which fit my background. I glanced at my son practicing his backstroke and when he turned around handed his cell phone to me. His wife was on the phone waiting to speak. Quite frankly the action surprised me. I felt somewhat awkward at first and I nearly declined to take the call.

I thought here might be an opportunity I would not come across otherwise. So I spoke with her and described the position I desired. She told me to send her my resume and she would see what might be available. Prior to hanging up I thanked her for your time and handed the phone back to her husband. I made sure as soon as I returned home, so I would not forget, I sent her my resume as an attachment in an email. Who knows what will result but I motivated since it seemed I was not alone in this endeavor.

No I never said I could not ask for help because of my pride. If only I did not need assistance as much as I have lately in the challenging economy…

No Comment by Tony Green

I was poking around of blogger.com after a long day of work and I checked how many blogs had comments associated with them.

One blog I read which happened to be written by “chemist” caught my eye. The blogger mentioned he had been to California for the first time for work remarked about its beauty and how ideal a place it would be to live. This did not surprise to me as I have lived in the Bay Area for eight years and could not think of living anywhere else.

The point, which caught my attention, was the number of remarks on his blogs as he traveled from place to place reporting the sights of the places he visited. Some comments simply stated, “right on”.

I wondered if this person worked as an accomplished blogger with a loyal following. State in another way, were all of the bloggers who commented looking around the Internet like me and stumbled across this blog entry? One way or another folks had taken time to respond on his entries and only just touching the blogs I had written.

As you might expect comments are not the reason I write my personal blog, I mean every dumb ass can write about anything and post material on the Internet so I figured why not. On many occasions, other people’s blogs are more informative and pertinent than the published material in the mass media. However, I thought to myself, how do I get more people to comment as I write?

In my view, blogging comes down to writing content, which strike a strong enough chord with people to respond.

My initial thought postulated the folks who read all my blogs failed to comment must have done do for the following reasons. Conceivably, they did not take time to comment. Perhaps they had nothing to say. Another possibility was they did not know how to express what they thought. Here is a funny one, my content was interesting and my readers are out to lunch. Seriously, the most likely reason was the thoughts I penned on paper simply did not warrant commenting, as what I wrote had no meaning to anyone.

Whew! Now my secret is out in the open. With that thought just to be safe, I should get to work on creating valuable content. This will in all likelihood serve me better creating quality than to wonder about what I created in the past.

Photo courtesy of Elymedia.com

Why do I subject myself to this? By Tony Green

One day you go to you work and you have a bad day. The job was miserable therefore many days were lousy which is why you were trying to move on to something better.
Even though circumstances were adding up to this the pink slip is still a surprise. You figured you do your job as they were paying you and once you landed something else you would leave with your head held high.

I live in Silicon Valley and if you had not guessed I work in high-tech and just found out I received a lay-off notice once the economy becomes challenging.
The last time I thought, “This is an aberration”. At this point, I asked why do stay here and deal with this? I possess qualities which are valuable to any company.

Let’s look at the question like this. I am in high-tech industries where once things go south for a company for whatever the reason employee are shown “the gate” as reducing headcount is the quickest way to cut costs.

Every employee who gets laid off is not doing a bad job. The fact still stays the same; you need to get another job in order to keep bills paid while explaining to your future prospective employer’s on why your co-workers were chosen to stay.
As for the future I wanted to choose a new job I enjoyed. My mother has suggested that I get a government job in spite of its long and inefficient application process.
Truth be told, there is nothing wrong with working for the government. Civil service positions are safe jobs you will maintain your employment unless a criminal offense is committed and get a pension you are finished. Most importantly you will not get laid off.

Upon thought is being safe what I covet? Or would I like an opportunity to succeed in the place where many have taken risks and if they did not become millionaires did very well for themselves?

I yearn for a chance to achieve something among the world’s most talented individuals in the most innovative environment.

I will get back, hopefully sooner than later but I want whatever position I land to continue my progression where I can get the chance to become another success story.
That is partially the reason I came to Silicon Valley and is why I resolve to stay until I prove I do not contain the talent needed to succeed. Time will tell as to how my quest works out. That is why I subject myself to THIS.

Vietnamese New Year by Tony Green

Tony Celebrating the New
 Year Vietnamese style

Traditionally the Chinese mark the coming of the new year by having massive celebrations and parties. In fact, many countries in the Pacific region celebrate the occasion with the Chinese. One of these countries is Vietnam.

The New Year is known as Tết is celebrated on the same day as Chinese New Year. It takes place from the first day of the first month of the lunar calendar (around late January or early February) until at least the third day. Tết shares many of the identical customs of its Chinese counterpart, having been derived from it.

Two years ago I was employed by a Vietnamese company and management allowed everyone to dress up to celebrate the occasion. The company rented us Vietnamese style costumes to wear for the party. At the time the outfit I wore was red in color and is referred to as “Ao Dai”. Later I learned clothing featuring the color red is worn throughout the Chinese New Year because the Vietnamese believe red will scare away evil spirits and bad fortune.

In addition, people typically wear new clothes from head to toe to symbolize a new beginning in the New Year. Wearing up-to-the-minute clothes also symbolizes having more than enough things to use and wear.

Tết is coming, the year of the Tiger is beginning on February 11 and as I approach the Chinese New Year it seems clear after the events of the previous year I could use something to ward away the bad vibe the past year as brought. The time is about a beginning and moving past he old. The red garb might be a good idea to change the karma. In this case the company is footing the bill. How expensive can the garb be? At this time I between positions therefore I perhaps should make mature decisions on how I spend my money. Money, however, is not everything and does not purchase good fortune. In that case should I splurge on this one? I always thought I looked good in red.