deja vu

I am almost positive that I've been here before...

The flight from Atlanta to Dubai was regrettably turbulent-free, and we arrived practically on time. I flew Delta this time around, so I didn't run into any flight attendants named Guido. From my recollection of the Emirates flight, I think that there were more Americans flying on Delta. It was particularly great to find that there were no screaming children stomping about the economy cabin on my Delta flight. Overall, I suppose I would fly Delta to Dubai again; although, I do miss my free Emirates Airline socks.

After an excruciatingly long queue for Passport Control, I raced to collect my bag, narrowly saving it from the "return bag to behind the carousel's wall" monster. I scanned the crowd that lined the exit towards ground transportation. Which driver had been sent to pick me up? None of the faces looked familiar until a waving arm caught my attention: Abhi!  My return to Dubai was starting much like my first trip. Only the hot, moist air stood between juxtaposing the two arrivals.

I was greeted by Bijou the waiter by name as I walked into the hotel. Huzzah! The new management kept almost all of the staff from when I was last here. At the end of February, there were strong rumors of the new management cleaning house at the beginning of March. It will be good to see all of them again. I checked in and was surprised to find that I would be staying in my old room, too.

The staff and room number may not have changed, but the room furnishings had! New furniture including two chairs and a side table sat to the side of the door. The TV was upgraded to a better flat screen, and I counted more English-speaking channels.

I opened the door to the bathroom. Yikes. The vent fan was left off, so a mass of stale air had accumulated. The temperature outside wasn't that bad; it was just odd for it to be so warm in the middle of the night.

George and his family arrive Friday, while Captain Scott is on holiday until Sunday. My first item of business is to get a haircut. We'll see if the deja vu continues...

Read more »

Posted in: Delta Airlines,dubai,Emirates Airline,sharjah,traveling

stick to the script

Over the last 48 hours, I have often reminded myself to stick to the script. You see, readers, since returning from Pawleys Island, South Carolina after the Fourth of July, the schedule on on the First Coast has been chock-o-block. While the circumstances that led to what some may call a hectic schedule are a touchy subject with at least one reader, it will suffice to say that time on the First Coast was more limited than I had anticipated.

But let's talk about what's been going on!

The parentals and I made the annual trek up to Pawleys Island, South Carolina on Friday, July 2. Pawleys, for the Google Maps challenged (though, do see below) is about 90 minutes north of Charleston, SC. The tiny barrier island is generally calm and peaceful until the summer months when residents escape and rent their beach homes to visitors. Pawleys is great for relaxing on the beach, resting on the porch swing, or floating down the "crick." (Creek, y'all.)

View Larger Map

The Johnson Family is gracious to host us each year at their beach home, even though the place is packed with family. When we get there we become honorary members of the family, make ourselves at home, and dine on all of Mrs. Johnson's great food. The Fourth of July on Pawleys Island is a scene right out of the Music Man (mostly). The patriotism on Pawleys Island that weekend may have been the greatest concentration in the State of South Carolina. (After all, the island is only 0.7 square miles.)

We had a great time there (even if our trip up cut my time at home a bit shorter). The Griswolds returned to the compound late on Monday evening.

Okay. It isn't quite Harold Hill, but this parade had America written all over it.

The combination of getting back late on Monday coupled with leaving early on Friday meant that I had my work cut out for me if I wanted to see all of the people that were on the list. (There wasn't really a list... well, there wasn't a written list.) Starting Monday night I started making plans to cram as many people into the next 36 hours as I could. This is when sticking to the script became really important. My days were planned down to the quarter-hour, and tiny deviations could cause more disruptions than a heat wave in the Northeast. (Shout out to those readers who lost power over the last few days. The Hippie would want me to remind you of the benefits of home-installed solar panels.)

Tuesday was a busy day. I woke up around 7:30 am to make a 9:10 am dental appointment in Jacksonville. I promised Cindy at Huckins Yacht Corporation that I would stop by and update her on my work with Haida and the Webb semester. My time with Cindy was limited by an 11:45 am appointment at the Apple Store to drop off my PowerBook to send to Apple Depot for extended refurbishment. I kept eying my watch (iPhone) at the periodontist's office. They were running late by almost 30 minutes. Every minute that tic-tocked by meant less time to talk to Cindy.

When I finished with the appointment, I raced over to Huckins. It was great to see the yard and some of the remodeled offices. Huckins is a fantastic family company. They do great work, and they're designers and craftsmen you can trust. (/shameless plug)

Unfortunately, I started to deviate from the script... I arrived 15 minutes late to my Apple appointment. On arrival, the concierge told me that I probably would need to make a new appointment, but I explained the situation and the obvious time constraints. Success. I dropped off the PowerBook and continued back on schedule to my next destination: lunch with Mary Kraack.

There was a small side trip on the way to see Mary. Back in May while I was down in Houston for the Offshore Technology Conference, my iPhone 3G became an unwilling participant in an experiment with gravity. One cracked screen later, I mustered every ounce of self control and vowed to hold out on repairing or replacing the phone in anticipation of the iPhone 4's imminent release. Tuesday was the scheduled delivery date of my replacement iPhone, and I was checking the delivery status habitually. I stopped by the house to check on arrival and waited there for Mary to call back about lunch.

Mary got back with me around 3:00 pm, and we agreed to scrub the lunch plans so that I was able to keep my dinner plans with Kyle DuBose. In the meantime, the iPhone arrived, and I spent the next hour getting it setup. (Ok. The phone was up and running within minutes, but I had to take time to tinker with all the new features. -- If you're an iPhone 4 owner, let me know so that we can use FaceTime on our next call.)

Dinner with Kyle went according to the script. We met at Osaka, had a leisurely hibachi dinner, and caught up on the last year's worth of living. (Yup, it really had been that long.)

I made a house call to spend time with Nana before heading to the CCHS Theatre to catch up with MK. She's operating a spotlight for Cinderella (Ash Girl), and she seems to be enjoying it. After rehearsal, Mary, Paul, and I were delighted to be joined by Jeremy Douylliez, a recent graduate of Camden County High School and, basically, the coolest people in the theatre department. We talked about his new adventure at Piedmont College and life after Camden. Dinner with the Kraacks and Jeremy was refreshing, and I hope to be able to get the group together again.

Paul took this picture of Mary and I with the iPhone 4.

By this time, the script had run out -- 11:30 pm. I was tired, but a text message earlier in the day had alerted me that my 9:00 am Wednesday appointment with Troy was canceled. After some quick decision making, I decided to forgo a little sleep and go meet up with Troy. Three hours later, I was really tired, but the deviation was worth it!

Wednesday morning started slowly because of the late night. I did some laundry, and prepped the iPod for my ensuing 16 hours of flying. I managed to grab a quick lunch with Brad before heading down to the airport. Silly rules about checking in 90 minutes for international flights really shouldn't exit. (Yes, they probably should.) My time on the First Coast ended as I passed through security and on towards the gate.

My time at home was frenetic, and I think that this quick trip home really represented the epitome of my personality. When I look back over the last several days, there were so many great moments. The script didn't allow for not-so-great moments, and that's why I stuck to it.

Next stop: Dubai.

Read more »

Posted in: first coast,leisure photos,script,traveling

victory in newport

I pulled out of Newport, Rhode Island on a crisp Thursday morning after spending the last two days working with David Pedrick, a Webb alumnus from the Class of 1970 on the Haida project. One of my tasks this summer is to move the watertight bulkhead arrangement project along so that ABS can approve construction drawings, and Haida can be one step closer to satisfying the most stringent, modern rules and regulations. David and I spent time in February surveying Haida to determine the least obtrusive locations to install additional watertight bulkheads. For the non-naval architects in the readership, watertight bulkheads allow a vessel to be compartmentalized under the main deck to increase the survivability of the vessel in the event of a breach of the hull. Yes, it's the same concept that almost worked for the RMS Titanic. For compartmentalization to work, the entire compartment has to be watertight. In other words, water should not be able to spill over the top of one bulkhead into the next compartment. This past week we laid the proposed bulkheads over a general arrangement of the vessel to see how the bulkheads would affect crew and guest movement and piping and ducting runs. I will use these preliminary drawings in Sharjah to assess whether the proposed locations are the most convenient for ease of construction.

The buzz word this week has been "iterative," as in design is an iterative process. Iteration works well on paper and computer screens. In AutoCAD, mere key strokes and mouse movements can reposition the bulkhead in seconds. When one starts to iterate a design that has already been built, complications arise, particularly in ship design. On a ship, yacht, or even your neighbor's small fishing boat, each system interacts with all of the other systems. A minor change to one component will likely require a change on several other components in other systems. Again, iteration or design changes work well on paper. System changes in the real world can require removing existing systems to gain access to change the design. Do that over and over again for, say, ten years, and you can see why a solid design plan can make the difference between a quick refit and a long overhaul.

Newport offered many new experiences to me beyond working in David's office. On Lynn's recommendation, I had lobster quesadillas at the Red Parrot on South Thames Street. I toured the Newport Shipyard and saw a great collection of 12-m America's Cup boats. David was a principal member of the design team for several of the boats; he had a story for each boat we encountered. (The weather was overcast on the day that we looked at the 12-m boats; I'll take pictures when I return to Newport in early August.)

The Red Parrot

Of course, that same crisp Thursday morning that I was trying to make way for New York to fly home, the BMW Oracle racing team landed in Newport as part of the victory tour. Although the impressive catamaran wasn't in attendance, the fruit of BMW Oracle's hard fight was – the America's Cup trophy. The stately, silver cup stood atop a carbon fiber pedestal -- a true juxtaposition of the old world tradition and modern technology. After meeting a formidable “who’s who” from the sailing community, I loaded up the Jeep and raced back to Glen Cove to catch the train for my flight home.

The America's Cup

I’ll be home for five days before flying over to Dubai. Those five days will be my summer vacation, so I won’t be updating the blog during that time. Rest assured, we’ll have plenty to discuss once I get back to the Middle East. Enjoy the Fourth of July weekend!

Read more »

Posted in: america's cup,haida,leisure photos,newport,traveling