October 2009

October 2009 Aspen Glen, CO Lat N 38° 23' 35",Lon W 106° 3' 52" elevation 8800’

I returned to our new home “Aspen Glen” in Colorado to undergo some neck surgery and recuperate prior to offshore Brazil deployment with the oil drill rig project. I received a dubious honor during the onshore commissioning effort. Susan did a great job of managing the upgrades to our new home. Texas weather is way different than Colorado and I found and recommend a great red wine.

I left the oil drilling rig project in Texas in mid October as the first of the two drill rigs was being loaded on a barge for shipment to Brazil. The second one will load out about three weeks later. Our on shore commissioning effort is over. I could have stayed with the project until we redeployed to offshore Brazil, but wanted to get a neck issue dealt with prior to leaving the country. I have damaged vertebrae in my neck pinching the nerves of my right arm. I’m in pain most of the time and the muscles of my right arm are beginning to atrophy due to this condition. This getting old stuff is not for sissies. Had I known I was going to live this long, I would have taken way better care of my body.

One of the Caterpillar engine generators blew up during the onshore commissioning phase of the project. I was the person responsible for that phase of the effort, so I became known as the “Cat killer”. The Caterpillar service representative gave me a Caterpillar sticker for my hard hat and my officemate hand lettered the word “killer” under the sticker. As it turned out the failure had nothing to do with what we did as a commissioning team and the engine was repaired. The rocker arm shaft was assembled incorrectly at the factory blocking oil to the rocker arm assembly. The rocker arm froze on the shaft leaving some of the valves in the open position while the engine was running at full speed. When the piston came up again it collided with the open valves and did what you might expect from a 2500 HP engine. It blew holes through the block on both sides expelling pistons and rods in a catastrophic failure.

Susan managed contractors through a complete repaint of the interior and exterior of our new house, the addition of a 30’ by 50’ garage shop , the addition of a whole house water purification system, and the installation of new heating appliances. She did a great job of planning and implementing these upgrades. Next are kitchen cabinet replacements, a big view window in the kitchen, hard wood floors, a master bath remodel, new decks, and a hot tub. Not necessarily in that order. It is a great place with plenty of room so come and visit. I will be working 28 on and 28 off for about the next year while we commission the drill rigs offshore Brazil. We are about 12 miles south of Poncha Springs, CO between MP 116 and MP 117 on US Hwy 285.

The weather was cooling off a bit when I left Texas with nighttime temperatures actually getting into the 70’s. Today as I write this, the temperature never got above freezing with about four inches of snow on the ground and still snowing. I’ve been really cozy with our new pellet stove all day. What a difference 1100 miles and 8800 feet of altitude change makes. I’m thinking there may be a snow mobile and a snow plow of some kind in my future.

I’m probably the only person on earth that did not know about this, but Ménage à Trois is about the best red wine I’ve ever had in the $10 range. It is a blend of three varietals that balance into “not to sweet or not too dry”. You knew enough French to know it was three of something, right? I buy it by the case so if you ever come to visit we will throw something on the grill and enjoy a bottle or so.

Our new contact information is, PO Box 337, 44011 US Hwy 285 Poncha Springs, CO 81242. Susan’s cell (719)221-4411, my cell (719)221-3248.