Con Two

Hello again from picturesque Antarctica. The sights here often take my breath away, but instead the cold has been doing that today.

We have entered into condition two weather. From the firehouse, we can't even see the dorms a few hundred feet away. The winds are gusting and the wind chill has dropped to about -60. I pray we don't run a call tonight, since I'm riding the bucket of an antiquated canopy cab tanker. I am sure it will prove to be an unpleasant experience.

Today began the first day of shift work for me. It was a bit of a hectic time for me. While we were trying to get into the rhythm of a normal work schedule, it kept getting interrupted by random administrative tasks that needed to be completed.

Station Two was also supposed to be operational today, though it was closed down early due to the poor weather conditions.

The one really productive thing that we did today was to go over the compressed air foam system (CAFS) on Red 4, one of our crash trucks. The system itself is remarkable in its design, though it suffers from some fatal flaws.

In essence, the system is nothing more than a pair of large, independent fire extinguishers. The dry chemical agent is PKM, better known as "purple k". It is set up in a mostly conventional Ansul system that is piped out to the bumper turret and the handline in the rear. From what I understand, it is fairly reliable system that isn't affected by our chilly climate to badly.

The foam system, however, has some issues. The design is novel. Instead of taking your standard mix of water, foam concentrate, and air to create a finished foam the system instead uses high pressure cylinders of compressed nitrogen injected directly into a special low temperature foam concentrate. At a ten to one expansion ratio, the 300 gallons of foam concentrate can create 3000 gallons of finished foam. Fairly impressive. However, the one major flaw lies in the type of foam used.

The foam used down here is specially designed for use in temperatures down to -40 degrees. To accomplish this, a antifreezing agent has been added to the mixture. While this antifreeze does keep the concentrate fluid at low temperatures, it has also proven itself to be extremely corrosive to the large number of brass fittings found on the system.

As a result, many of the units have had serious issues when corrosion from residue left in the system, leading to failures during testing and some minor incidents. The problem has been resolved on several of the units by having the brass replaced by stainless steel fittings. The remaining units that have not had the upgrades are going to be retrofitted shortly. Hopefully this means that we'll have the units in a good, reliable condition.

In other news, life here has been pretty tame aside from the weather. I have officially lost all sense of time, though. The constant daylight combined with the odd schedule means that time and days are only relative as to whether I am scheduled to work. Since my life consists of one day of work followed by one day off, everything blurs.

It's an odd effect. If it wasn't for the fact that we typically black out the rooms in the evenings, I don't think I could ever get to sleep.

Since we do have the evenings free to relax during our shifts, I've been putting some thought into what is going to follow after this jaunt through southern locales. Aside from the places I'd like to hit on the way back to the states, I've been thinking past that.

What am I going to do when I get back? I'm not really sure. I don't think I want to slow down or stop anytime soon. Traveling is too much of an itch I need to scratch. The world remains out there still, calling my name. I've been thinking about getting a motorcycle and just cruising the states until I'm flat broke. From that point, however, I'm not sure what would follow. It's not the most practical idea in the world, but it would certainly take me down the road less traveled.

Another thought that has come to mind is to get back into flying. I've been sitting here looking at my dream plane again, the RV-8. She's such a versatile machine that I could really travel with one. With Tuckey tanks, fuel sipping motor, and some strategic weight saving, I could stretch the range of one to something more than just significant. I could cover a lot of countries in style, comfort, and in something that I will have built with my own hands.

Too bad the start up costs for that one are a little high. About 70 large plus going back to flight school again.

Would it be worth it? I think so. Maybe I could even give Jon Johanson a run for his money. It would certainly be easier with the bigger wing of the -8.

Yet another idea that has crept into my mind has been to find a tramp steamer and just sail away and end up where I end up. The realities of seasickness and pirates make this one a little less than romantic than I'd like to imagine, though. While it remains an option, it's probably less likely than most.

I don't know. I should probably start looking around for jobs soon. I still have several months left here, but time does move quickly.

I just wish there was an easy fix for this restlessness. I don't know if there is one. I think there's one thing that could get me to settle down. Disappointingly, I don't think it's there. Not now, at least. Hopefully someday.


But, enough rambling for tonight. I'm running on fumes right now. Drinking too many cups of coffee hasn't been working and with the windows blacked out in the lounge right now it almost feels like night. Sleep seems appropriate about now. Maybe even with a dream of a warm, sunny southern beach.