http://www.BlackwoodLife.com/BlackwoodLife/Blog/Blog.html When designing something completely foolproof, never underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools. - Douglas Adams iWeb 1.1.2 http://www.BlackwoodLife.com/BlackwoodLife/Blog/Blog_files/DSCF3356-filtered.jpg http://www.BlackwoodLife.com/BlackwoodLife/Blog/Blog.html 60 When designing something completely foolproof, never underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools. - Douglas Adams When designing something completely foolproof, never underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools. - Douglas Adams http://www.BlackwoodLife.com/BlackwoodLife/Blog/561E36F7-20EB-4188-9729-DCAE1F1AE236.html http://www.BlackwoodLife.com/BlackwoodLife/Blog/561E36F7-20EB-4188-9729-DCAE1F1AE236.html Tue, 14 Jul 2009 19:29:25 +0100 <a href="http://www.BlackwoodLife.com/BlackwoodLife/Blog/561E36F7-20EB-4188-9729-DCAE1F1AE236_files/DSCF4052_1.jpg"><img src="http://www.BlackwoodLife.com/BlackwoodLife/Blog/Images/DSCF4052.jpg" style="float:left; padding-right:10px; padding-bottom:10px; width:130px; height:130px;"/></a>Today we will depart from Cork, the last scheduled port in Ireland. Over the last month many of the projects I have worked on have been in preparation of this day. I have been getting very comfortable http://www.BlackwoodLife.com/BlackwoodLife/Blog/999ED287-943A-4BAC-9A1D-D4E2FE45E106.html http://www.BlackwoodLife.com/BlackwoodLife/Blog/999ED287-943A-4BAC-9A1D-D4E2FE45E106.html Tue, 9 Jun 2009 16:15:39 +0100 <a href="http://www.BlackwoodLife.com/BlackwoodLife/Blog/999ED287-943A-4BAC-9A1D-D4E2FE45E106_files/DSCF3682_1.jpg"><img src="http://www.BlackwoodLife.com/BlackwoodLife/Blog/Images/DSCF3682.jpg" style="float:left; padding-right:10px; padding-bottom:10px; width:130px; height:130px;"/></a>I am writing this with only a few hours of sleep while the days events are still fresh in my mind. My day truly began at 11:45 PM Monday, June 8th. It was when I began my first night watch of the eng http://www.BlackwoodLife.com/BlackwoodLife/Blog/91AAD257-EFB2-4D10-ADBA-267C32E81F51.html http://www.BlackwoodLife.com/BlackwoodLife/Blog/91AAD257-EFB2-4D10-ADBA-267C32E81F51.html Fri, 29 May 2009 10:24:27 +0100 <a href="http://www.BlackwoodLife.com/BlackwoodLife/Blog/91AAD257-EFB2-4D10-ADBA-267C32E81F51_files/Logos%20Hope%202.mov"><img src="http://www.BlackwoodLife.com/BlackwoodLife/Blog/Images/Logos%20Hope%202.jpg" style="float:left; padding-right:10px; padding-bottom:10px; width:130px; height:130px;"/></a>I have been onboard the MV Logos Hope nearly two weeks now and I am overwhelmed with all sorts of topics to talk about. I have not yet been able to get any photos up, but they are coming. This is part 00:08:41 I have been onboard the MV Logos Hope nearly two weeks now and I am overwhelmed with all sorts of topics to talk about. I have not yet been able to get any photos up, but they are coming. This is part I have been onboard the MV Logos Hope nearly two weeks now and I am overwhelmed with all sorts of topics to talk about. I have not yet been able to get any photos up, but they are coming. This is partly due to the internet being very interesting here on the ship, and a couple other technical difficulties. Most of my work hours so far have been spent getting the engines into better working condition. I spent a few days dismantling portions of the fuel pump oil drainage system on engine four (otherwise known as the horse with no name) in order to clean the sludge out because the lubrication system is under maintenance. The rest of my time has been spent doing some peculiar jobs consisting of re-insulating the air exhausts on each cylinder on each of the four engines, re-insulating portions of the HVAC systems, some machining and other odds and ends. These engines, as you will see are massive, and much larger than anything I have ever worked on. We are talking fuel injectors the size of your arm, cylinders larger in diameter than myself, rocker arms three feet long, etcetera. Because they are so large, in some aspects they are easier to work with, however because of their weight, parts can be trickier to maneuver. On Sunday, which was one of my days off, I worked in the galley all day cleaning and cooking. This was very enjoyable work compared to the greasy pit that is the engine room. In the galley there are wonderful luxuries like sunlight, fresh air, music, and people you can actually have a conversation with without having to yell through protective ear wear. I did have a notably good laugh while moving a large stack of pans. This is because I am used to carrying heavy stuff down in the ship, and I thought nothing of moving this relatively lighter stack of pans, but to my amusement I was looked at like some sort of superhero for carrying the entire stack at once. I plan on working in the galley when Sunday rolls around again. The crew here is a pretty awesome collection of people from all around the world from all different walks of life. I’ve quickly made good friends with many onboard particularly with other project workers and mostly people not actually in the marine operations department (which is the department I belong to). I have also had the great opportunity to further my russian. In fact, one afternoon last week in Dublin, I had spoken so little english that by the end of the day I was mentally exhausted. I now feel much more comfortable with speaking quicker and am not as cautious to making mistakes here as I am with the russian community at Purdue (this is a good thing). I am not the only one learning, as a few of my new friends are taking this opportunity to better their english simultaneously. I have observed that the ship is far from perfect in its construction, operation, and community. It is certainly a very unique community here, and there are many good qualities I have observed mixed with what I would consider almost inhuman behaviors that will take some further observation to fully understand. Despite these hurdles the ship is already reaching out to many new people at every port, including the crew itself. I am very excited to continue sailing and learning with the MV Logos Hope and its crew. Here at Cardiff, we are actually docked right next to Cardiff Bay, which I recognized instantly as one of the popular shooting locations in the newer Doctor Who series which started a few years ago. As it turns out there is a big Doctor Who exhibition here, and a variety of landmarks to see. Dublin was great and the outreach was fantastic. Hopefully I will be able to share more through the photos that are on their way. The day at sea was very enjoyable, even while I was working. At the end of the day I relaxed in a hammock hung at the rear of the ship watching the sun drop below the horizon wondering who came up with this idea that it is worse for your eyes to stare http://www.BlackwoodLife.com/BlackwoodLife/Blog/9C6B79E3-6EC8-423E-8EB9-7D74C2262543.html http://www.BlackwoodLife.com/BlackwoodLife/Blog/9C6B79E3-6EC8-423E-8EB9-7D74C2262543.html Sun, 17 May 2009 13:48:57 +0100 <a href="http://www.BlackwoodLife.com/BlackwoodLife/Blog/9C6B79E3-6EC8-423E-8EB9-7D74C2262543_files/Logos%20Hope%201-2.mov"><img src="http://www.BlackwoodLife.com/BlackwoodLife/Blog/Images/Logos%20Hope%201.jpg" style="float:left; padding-right:10px; padding-bottom:10px; width:130px; height:130px;"/></a>Hello everyone, at C2G and New Life and anywhere else that may happen to see this. After two planes, a five hour layover, several buses, a good bit of walking and about twenty-four hours I boarded the 00:00:38 Hello everyone, at C2G and New Life and anywhere else that may happen to see this. After two planes, a five hour layover, several buses, a good bit of walking and about twenty-four hours I boarded the Hello everyone, at C2G and New Life and anywhere else that may happen to see this. After two planes, a five hour layover, several buses, a good bit of walking and about twenty-four hours I boarded the Logos Hope in Dublin, Ireland. I was able to catch a glimpse of the ship from the bus that took me into the city from the airport. This was good because had I not seen it, I would not have had a good idea of where exactly it was, as I still had about a mile to walk from the central bus station to the ship. As I approached, I knew this would be a great ship to work on because up on one of the highest decks I could see a girl swinging on a swing that had been mounted to the deck above it. I can not recall ever seeing someone swing on a ship that was not in a movie, and without there being pirates involved. As of writing this, I have been on the ship less than twenty-four hours. The crew is made up of everyone from children running around, to people my age, to families onboard, to the elderly. I’ve already met people from more nationalities than I can count on two hands, and have already spoken russian. Work will start on tuesday, at which point I will have a better idea of my role here on the ship, until then I will be getting settled in, and try to get this blog updated. Right at the moment, internet is unstable and I have not yet been able to get e-mail or facebook. I will have to upload this blog from an internet cafe in Dublin this afternoon. Thanks for everyones help, and for more about the Logos Hope their website is www.LogosHope.org. http://www.BlackwoodLife.com/BlackwoodLife/Blog/049841F9-263A-44E1-8A09-4ED266E40867.html http://www.BlackwoodLife.com/BlackwoodLife/Blog/049841F9-263A-44E1-8A09-4ED266E40867.html Wed, 6 May 2009 20:07:01 +0100 <a href="http://www.BlackwoodLife.com/BlackwoodLife/Blog/049841F9-263A-44E1-8A09-4ED266E40867_files/DSCF3370_1.jpg"><img src="http://www.BlackwoodLife.com/BlackwoodLife/Blog/Images/DSCF3370.jpg" style="float:left; padding-right:10px; padding-bottom:10px; width:130px; height:130px;"/></a>My blog has gone without much updates over the last year- this is primarily because of two reasons. The first reason is that I do not want to flood this site with relatively boring stuff as found on m