I've been working on extensions to my SeaNet code for several days now, trying to debug a particularly strange bug. I'm longing for my own computer, that I don't have to share with dozens of other people, and that I can sit at comfortably. (Ergonomics in the lab are abysmal. It's designed as a chemistry and biology lab, so the counter tops are high, and if you're lucky, you can find a stool to sit on, otherwise you stand or use a packing crate.) Anyway I'm still wrestling with this bug, which is frustrating.
One thing I like about piloting is the chair, which is a sort of bucket seat with lots of adjustments. It's the only chair where I can sit in lotus position, which I like because it feels good for my back.
The Jason techs are working on a new piece of equipment: a hole cutter, for taking samples of the hull. They've never used one of these before. It's a complicated arrangement of moveable clamps, to hold it onto the workpiece, and a fearsome tubular saw blade for cutting the hole. Hydraulically powered, makes a gawdawful racket, and has lots of things to break or go wrong. Any piece of equipment that attaches itself to wreckage is a potential disaster, if power fails and we can't tell it to disconnect itself.
Tonight's hairbrushing movie is _Bram Stoker's Dracula_ which is visually lush and impressive, but has a confusing storyline with lots of inconsistencies, and too much arcane psychobabble. (The Simpsons version was better!). Also Winona Ryder in a see through nightie.
Second, and by coincidence at the same time, the shuttle arrived! This has got everybody excited. It's amazing how hungry we all are for something new to look at; just about everybody came out to watch. The shuttle itself was a medium size Japanese vessel, smaller than the _Thompson_, which came out to our work site.
Transferring people and material between two ships, even in a moderate sea, is a real challenge, and the weather has been rougher than usual today. First, they sent over a Zodiac (inflatable boat) with two crewmembers and a pile of boxes, which turned out to be food supplies; fresh vegetables and fruit, yay! A bow line was made fast, and one crewman held on to a knotted rope for stability (the boat is bouncing ten feet up and down all the time). Our crew threw lines down to the other guy, who tied them around boxes so we could haul them aboard. When they were done we applauded and yelled "Domo arigato!"
Meanwhile, we lowered an orange launch (also a Zodiac, but this one is bigger, a metal boat hull with an inflatable ring around it) and sent it over to the shuttle. They made two trips, bringing the Discovery Channel film crew (four guys with a lot of gear) and one WHOI employee with the replacement GPS P-code unit we have been waiting for. Same routine getting the gear aboard, but the people have to grab and climb a rope ladder hanging over the side, which requires both strength and coordination. They all did various comedy routines, flailing around. One guy got his legs caught between the launch and the ship, but he wasn't hurt. Of course they all wear life jackets for this.
We sent a box of WHOI hats over to the shuttle, as a token of appreciation. Finally, we recovered the launch, using a kind of cradle arrangement lowered from the davits (those bent arms with pulleys, that hang over the side, for hauling boats in and out of the water). The cradle is lowered into the water, the launch pilot drives his boat into the cradle, and they get hauled up using power winches. This is a mighty tricky operation, but the _Thompson_ crew makes it look easy!
It's worth noting how excited the Discovery guys are, to be here ... probably about as excited as I was, when I started the trip. We all must seem tired and sour to them.
During those long, dark night watches that never seem to end, we decided that what we need to get taken seriously is a soundtrack, just like on a National Geographic special. Here's a start:
I miss having black people around. I miss chocolate skin and soul accents and street attitudes and vitality. Sometimes I dance around in the lab, late at night when there's no one around, playing the music in my head. I should have brought some African percussion albums, just for myself.
This week's fire and boat drill happened on my watch (this makes two weeks in a row), which is good, because those of us on watch don't have to participate in standing around in life jackets, waiting for head counts.
I had breakfast with several of the Discovery guys. They seem to be mostly freelancers, and they get to travel around a lot and learn about all kinds of science projects all over the place. It sounds like a fun job!
Finally, we have recovered Argo and are doing the modifications to use it in side-looking mode. They say this should only last a day or two, and then we'll move on to Jason operations. I'm just happy for a change from endless "mowing the lawn" line coverage, also known as The Image Survey That Time Forgot.
During my day watch, the Discovery crew came in to do some shooting while we were doing Argo side-look operations. Three more guys in the control van makes for a crowded environment, and of course they have to have lights shining in my face, which makes it harder to see the monitors. Still, it was fun. They did take some footage of me piloting Argo, but I have no idea if it will get used (I doubt it, I'm not important enough). If and when I find out when the show will air, I will post it for everybody.
Argo was recovered around midday, which means I don't have to stand watch until Jason is ready to get wet (at least 24 hours). The prospect of sleeping through the night without interruption sounds like paradise!
While the techs swarm madly over the vehicles (again reminding me of a pit crew at Indy), the navigation team is recovering some of the transponders, and placing new ones (closer to the main wreck site, to give us finer navigation data). Each time this is done, the ship steams in a wide circle around each transponder, to verify its operation and fix its position for reference.
I spent the day working on the SeaNet code, fixing lots of little problems and adding neat features like scrolling lists to the user interface. Working without interruption, I can get a lot more done with a lot less stress. What a good feeling!
After dinner, I prepared a didjeridu demonstration and lesson (someone had expressed interest, so I wrote an announcement on the white board in the galley, which is the easiest way to get the word out). Nobody came. There were a few people hanging around who were willing to listen, so I played a little bit, but it was kind of disappointing.
I like going to sleep with the ship rocking gently, making all its noises of operation. Have you ever driven a long distance overnight with a group of people, taking turns driving while the others sleep? There's a neat feeling when you have the responsibility for the safety of the vehicle and passengers, and then you get to sleep to the sound of the wheels on the road, knowing that someone else is taking care of you. That's what it's like, the feeling of being part of a trusted and trusting team.
I spent the day working on SeaNet code, trying to get as much done as possible while I have the time. I get to learn a lot, and it's fun to add features to the code and see them pop up on the screen.
At lunch, the camera crew was filming one of the scientists (Dan Fenari, I think, whom they call "the Ferengi") talking about the mission. At one point, he picked up the napkin dispenser and held it above his plate, to demonstrate something about Jason operations. Naturally, we all thought this was extremely funny. I started making a map of the debris field with my potato chips, and the other guys at my table joined in, using hamburgers for major pieces of wreckage, french fries for hatch covers, and so on. After forty days, we find amusement wherever we can.
Here's a description of Jason and Medea, the vehicles we will be using for the last two weeks of operations. Jason is a fully pilotable ROV; unlike the sleds we've been towing through the water, it travels under its own power. Its top half is a big blue float, with the chassis hanging underneath, bristling with electronics. It has seven thrusters, and can travel or turn in any direction, under the pilot's control. It also has a manipulator, a heavy robot arm with a claw, and a little platform in front where tools or sensors can be mounted. (For this dive, we have a cluster of high definition and color cameras on a swivel mounting.)
Jason is connected to Medea by a neutrally buoyant tether. Medea is a small sled, which is towed by the ship (like Argo and the other sleds); this is one way in which Jason is different from other ROVs. The main purpose of this arrangement is to isolate Jason from the heaving motion of the ship, as it bobs over the waves. (Medea bobs up and down at the end of its cable, but Jason stays undisturbed.) Medea also has lights, which help illuminate the work area, and a camera which can monitor Jason as it works. (The camera is mainly to watch the tether, to help keep it from snagging on something.)
Jason and Medea launched midafternoon. This is an interesting operation to watch, because of the unusual configuration. First, Jason is lowered over the side with a small crane, detached, and driven out of the way by the pilot. Then, Medea is lowered from the main A-frame crane and winch, over the transom. Once systems check is done, the winch starts lowering Medea to the bottom, while Jason drives along, keeping pace. The transit takes several hours, because Jason has only small thrusters and can't go very fast.
Fresh fish for dinner tonight, red snapper and mahimahi (the captain caught them yesterday). Dee-lish.
Around the end of the watch, Medea and Jason were recovered. The tether was wrapped around Medea a dozen times, breaking the optic fibers inside. Fortunately, we have a spare tether ready to go.
1200 - 1600 For the first part of this watch, the Discovery camera crew was in the control van, along with assorted hangers-on, and things were really crowded in there. But their shuttle boat arrived, and they took down their lights and left, along with several crew members who were due for leave. We all longed to be packed in their suitcases.
Adding insult to injury, they delayed the shuttle while calling all over the place, looking for "a pair of sunglasses in a black case." Tim (our watch navigator) suggested sourly that if we had Discovery Channel hats to shield our eyes, we could do a better job of looking for them. His hint was not taken.
My job is to "pilot" Medea (which means running the winch, since Medea doesn't have any thrusters) and to watch the tether for any possibility of fouling on something. On this watch, we did manage to get the tether all snarled up, and spent some time twisting Jason around trying to straighten out the kinks. We couldn't get it completely straight, but we went back to work anyway.
Jason has a little bucket next to the manipulator, like a kid's sand pail, to hold various tools. Will Sellers (pilot) butted Jason up against a piece of wreckage and used the manipulator to grab a scrubbing brush and clean off the broken edges of the metal, so that the high definition cameras could get a good look at them. Now you know where the Tidy-Bowl man goes when you flush.
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